Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General said he would set up an inquiry to investigate the attacks on UN facilities during the recent offensive in Gaza. The independent investigation will be looking into cases where innocent people are believed to have died. The investigation initiated by Ban Ki-moon will also be analyzing the use of UN facilities by the Palestinian militants to store weapons. Ban Ki-moon said that the UN reported that most of the Palestinian people killed during the Gaza conflict were civilians. Israel, on the other hand says that the large number of civilians who died during the Gaza bombings is because of the Hamas fighters. They say the Hamas fighters launched attacks from residential areas, such as schools or mosques. More than 2,100 Palestinians were killed during the conflict, as well as 67 Israeli soldiers and 6 civilians in Israel.
The offensive in Gaza was launched on July 8. Its main purpose was to stop militants from firing rockets and mortars at Israeli territory. On August 28, both sides agreed to an open-ended ceasefire. Ban Ki-moon spoke at a UN Security Council on Tuesday, right after his visit in Gaza. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared: “I look forward to a thorough investigation by the Israel Defense Forces of this and other incidents in which UN facilities sustained hits and many innocent people were killed. I am planning to move forward with an independent board of inquiry to look into the most serious of those cases, as well as instances in which weaponry was found on UN premises.” In a single shelling attack, Israel killed more than a dozen people inside a UN-run school in Gaza. Ban Ki-moon also said that time was running out for the humanitarian relief to build back the damaged Palestinian enclave in due time, until winter comes.
Ban Ki-moon did not provide any more details regarding the investigation or the manner in which it will be conducted. Last month, Israel initiated its own investigation of five incidents. During these incidents, civilians were reported murdered. Since Israel began its offensive on Gaza, there have been over 5,200 airstrikes on Gaza. Over 4,500 rockets and mortars were fired back at Israel.