Update: U.N. 'sure' no militants at school hit by Israeli troops

the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center released an 81-page report on “Hamas Exploitation of Civilians as Human Shields.” It describes such Hamas practices as:

• firing projectiles “at Israeli population centers from inside or close to private Palestinian residences and sometimes from educational institutions and mosques”;
  
• “exploit[ing] IDF warnings to civilians to evacuate their residences…to send children and adolescents to the relevant locations”; and
  
• “repeatedly attack[ing]” the crossings into Gaza “with rocket and mortar shell fire as well as attempted mass-casualty and suicide bombing attacks.”

Detailed reports, though, have little power compared to the graphic images projected to the world by the media-terrorism complex. Although the Associated Press reported that “Area residents confirmed the [IDF] account [of the school incident], saying militants were seen staging attacks from the area,” it also described the growing agitation against Israel including a top UN official “call[ing] for an investigation into the mounting civilian death toll.”

Two residents of the area near UN school that was shelled by the IDF on Tuesday said that they had seen a small group of terrorists firing mortar rounds from a street close to the school. The two spoke with The Associated Press by telephone on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

The army said the school grounds were being used by terrorists to fire mortar shells at troops stationed nearby, and the soldiers responded by firing back. According to the IDF, the dead included members of the Hamas rocket cell, including senior operatives Imad Abu Askhar and Hassan Abu Askhar.

Defense officials told The Associated Press that booby-trapped bombs in the school had triggered secondary explosions that killed additional Palestinians there.

The army noted that Tuesday was not the first time Hamas had attacked Israel from within a school. The IDF released a video taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle in late 2007 showing terrorists firing mortars from right outside a school.

"Hamas has in the past fired at Israel and at troops from inside schools, [exploiting] civilians, as is proven by UAV footage," the army said.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip, May 5 (Reuters) - By day, Awad al-Qiq was a respected science teacher and headmaster at a United Nations school in the Gaza Strip. By night, Palestinian militants say, he built rockets for Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli air strike that killed the 33-year-old last week also laid bare his apparent double life and embarrassed a U.N. agency which has long had to rebuff Israeli accusations that it has aided and abetted guerrillas fighting the Jewish state.

In interviews with Reuters, students and colleagues, as well as U.N. officials, denied any knowledge of Qiq's work with explosives. And his family denied he had any militant links at all, despite a profusion of Islamic Jihad posters at his home.

But militant leaders allied to the enclave's ruling Hamas group hailed him as a martyr who led Islamic Jihad's "engineering unit" -- its bomb makers. They fired a salvo of improvised rockets into Israel in response to his death.

The Israeli army accused Hamas of using civilians as "human shields" and said its troops had fired mortars at the premises after gunmen mortared their positions from inside al-Fakhora school in Jabalya refugee camp.

Citing intelligence reports, it named two men it said were Islamist gunmen killed in the attack. A spokesman said the army did not know how many others died.

I find it more than disturbing that a journalist questioning the veracity of Israeli intelligence chose to change 99.99 percent to 100 percent to make his point. This is exactly how the failure he is attempting to expose may have occurred. Perhaps operatives reported a 99.99 percent chance this compound was a base for Hamas and this was changed to 100 percent at its next level of communication. Regardless of the reality of the event, it is paramount that those choosing to examine this situation pay special attention to TRUTH.

Several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and sang Hebrew hymns in Paris Sunday to show support for Israel in its military offensive in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally. 

Warmly dressed to brave seasonably cold weather, about 12,000 demonstrators gathered on a street not far from the Israeli embassy, according to organizers, the CRIF, an umbrella group of French Jewish organizations. 

Police said 4,000 people turned up for the demonstration held on a side street after city authorities barred them from massing directly in front of the embassy. 

“Israel is simply fighting for its freedom and for the survival of its people,” France’s Chief Rabbi Gilles Bernheim told the crowd. “There is no desire to destroy another people.” 

Unlike the pro-Hamas rally the day before, no cars were torched after the pro-Israel protest.

Remember when the Chinese Embassy was mistakenly bombed?

"On 7 May 1999 in Operation Allied Force, NATO bombs hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, killing three Chinese citizens and outraging the Chinese public"

Smart bombs and GPS are not foolproof.

One fact is 100% certain in modern war---innocent civilians will get caught in the crossfire.

I'm with Karen. That is the thing with the "human shield" tactic. You can't shoot when there are civilians there. Not that this applies in this case, but it just shows that the logic is moot.

Karen,

it is a war in the middle of a very dense population. Where were the critics when rockets were coming from Gaza by Hamas. None of you want to address  or discuss Hamas. They truly are laughing at this discussion. they eat this up. Sincere Westerners complaining about Israel trying to stop a terrorist organization that hides behind its own population and you encourage them by supporting this behavior. Israel does not target children, women or other innocents. But there is a war and it is fighting Hamas. And YES people are being used a human shields by Hamas.   Israel needs to be extra careful and not blow them away like Jordon, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Iraqis have been doing for years. I can name a few more countries too.

Kate,

you are correct. Israel according to their spokesperson on sky news a few hours ago clearly stated that the orders to the troops were clear that if you engage Hamas and they are hiding behind civilians dont shoot. I do not know of any other army that will go out of its way and actually not shoot. Excuse me that in a war civilians are being killed. It is not fair and not good but it does happen especially when Hamas is fighting among the population. For Hamas The more civilian casualties the happier they are as Israel takes the blame.

~ Israel is NOT ATTACKING CIVILIANS, the oppressors of the Palestinians are firing from the midst of these "innocent civilians". So what is Israel to do? Remain restrained by the terrorists and allow her own women and children to be murdered by these dogs?

Hamas operatives above ground in Gaza were able once again to fire a few dozen rockets at Israel, one of which injured a three-month-old girl in Gedera 45 kilometers from the Strip. Israeli forces had, though, reportedly taken over most of the rocket-launching sites in northern Gaza.

A stream of EU visitors in Jerusalem were firmly rebuffed by Israeli leaders who in the past had not excelled at resisting Western pressures, and whose once-hawkish worldviews had become much softer over the years. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the French, Czech Republic, and Swedish foreign ministers that “This is the time for action not words. We are fed up with empty gestures,” and that the IDF campaign in Gaza, not a premature ceasefire, would stop the rockets.

President Shimon Peres, who in the 1990s became the key figure in setting Israel on a path of appeasing terror, spoke even more strongly to the Czech Republic and Swedish FMs along with EU foreign policy chief Benita Ferraro-Waldner, telling them that “Europe needs to open its eyes with respect to the fighting in Gaza”—and that they “must understand that Hamas is a terror organization of the worst order that uses its population of women and children as human shields.”

And Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni—now also an aspirant for the office of prime minister and rival of hawkish Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu—went so far as to tell the Europeans that “When Israel is targeted, Israel is going to retaliate. Israel is going to give an answer to [rocket fire] because this is an ongoing, long war against terror.”

he Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center happened to release an 81-page report on “Hamas Exploitation of Civilians as Human Shields.” It describes such Hamas practices as:

• firing projectiles “at Israeli population centers from inside or close to private Palestinian residences and sometimes from educational institutions and mosques”;
  
• “exploit[ing] IDF warnings to civilians to evacuate their residences…to send children and adolescents to the relevant locations”; and
  
• “repeatedly attack[ing]” the crossings into Gaza “with rocket and mortar shell fire as well as attempted mass-casualty and suicide bombing attacks.”

Detailed reports, though, have little power compared to the graphic images projected to the world by the media-terrorism complex. Although the Associated Press reported that “Area residents confirmed the [IDF] account [of the school incident], saying militants were seen staging attacks from the area,” it also described the growing agitation against Israel including a top UN official “call[ing] for an investigation into the mounting civilian death toll.”

Correction: MURDER

Not killing. It is MURDER what is happening. A bunch of gang-violence if you ask me, and the innocent people are caught up in it.

Israel seems to have also denied that there is a humanitarian crisis, correct? 

Now they have used data that was supposed to protect schools in order to attack schools.

What will they do next? Tell all the civilians to leave so they can bomb the city in peace?

What a joke.

Having an entire country (especially a nuclear-armed one) run by religious zealots is a recipie for disaster! Maybe this invasion of gaza will be comparable to the Nazi invasion of poland prior to WW2?

Anyway, the only solution is cease fire. Hammas will stop the rocket fire and Israel will lift the blockade. That is the only solution.

Solarlife (and everyone else in doubt) -- Watch this YouTube video, and you'll see a spokesperson for Hamas admitting to using children as human shields.  What more do you need to see?

Personally, I'd like to see his CIA ID-badge ...

UN's reporting was FALSE - no israeli rocket hit the school at all.

"

Paschen so far: CNN Story Highlights: "U.N. sure no Palestinian militants fired from school hit by Israeli attack." Video says Investigation Israel to hold accountable for GPS data given from UN to Israel to protect school was misused to attack school.

This is a hard fact to use UN protection Data GPS, to attack exactly there. Wow

Perhaps hasbara, perhaps not, but from the link in gahooch's story on NP

Witness in UN Gaza School Comfirms Hamas Firing From Within

the New York Times claims to have a witness statement from a sixteen-year old Hamas supporter:

A young witness from Jabaliya, Ibrahim Amen, 16, said that he had seen one of the militants, whom he identified as Abu Khaled Abu Asker, in the area of the school right before the attack.

Contributing journalists listed as Taghreed El-Khodary reported from Gaza City, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem. Reporting was contributed by Steven Erlanger in Jerusalem; Michael Slackman from Cairo; Neil MacFarquhar from the United Nations; Alan Cowell and Katrin Bennhold from Paris; and Graham Bowley from New York.

Solarlife, I'm in total agreement with you on the monstrosity of the Israeli attack immediately outside the UN facility full of civilians seeking refuge from the onslaught. I fully believe the UN statements that the Israeli forces had been informed of the GPS co-ordinates.

(And I have been listening most carefully to interviews with both Chris Gunness and John Ging; I only wish I had the impression that the apologists for Israel posting here were doing the same, but I suspect they're not and don't even care!)

Solarlife,

The truth is that the UN spokeperson in Gaza said that he was 99.9% sure. He left a possiblity for the truth.

tikun see the Update 10 Min. Now United Nations getting clear. UN agency demands Israel support claims about militants at school. Well by the way you have an Idea for an Economic plan for the Region: Water Farming, Energy etc. I am looking for proposals

Kate..I'm with Karen. That is the thing with the "human shield" tactic. You can't shoot when there are civilians there. A clear true message especially when children are the goal. Reminds me to much the old testament stories, killed their children, I never liked it....
The Reality the day after. In the UK is a Foundation  inviting children from Israel and Palestine to play together in a summer camp or do common gardening. The Palestine children out of their prison first time have difficulties in every creative action not to end in destruction. We see how "kaput" they are, how should later peace come out of this prison camp ? The summary the program is run by a great human rights campaigner Lady with India project experience, all my respect.

I have removed one photo on this story as it is offensive and un-called for - please don't upload it again.

It has been reported that the Israeli Army was unaware it had targetted a school, a fact disputed by the UN Secretary General.

A quote from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, from Un.org:

“The location of all UN facilities have been communicated to the Israeli authorities and are known to the Israeli army”

I am sorry Solarlife, but I don't see in the article you are citing, anywhere that states the UN said they are '100%' sure, just that they are 99.9% sure - can you point out to me where it says 100% sure? Thanks.

I think it's great that we have two stories with two contrasting viewpoints today (other one is here); it really allows us to question sources and look at the way mainstream media reports on situations in countries where there is not a lot of first-hand information on controversial events, such as this one.

I just want to remind everyone to please remember our code of conduct and that if any comments get too personal, I will edit them for content as it detracts from the conversation about sources, wording and witnesses, which could be really interesting.

It's fine to take a screenshot - the wording placed above it was not fine. Those are the rules; everyone has to stick to them on NowPublic, regardless of what organization you are involved in outside NP.

The title of the second photo had the same wording as the yellow text on the first photo - I actually didn't see that one; another editor pointed it out to me as they were also offended by it and it wasn't even about them. It was wrong to do that - every member would have to adhere to the same rules.

I actually don't think it was ok for your story to be flagged as fishy; that editor knows that now. Despite your accusations, I am not on anyone's side here - what I am doing is not fishy at all.

so the Tikun group Israel bought the Title , needed a long time for the truth against me, you will see tomorrow military writers need no advertising on my articles, CNN is over Propaganda writing you should stay neutral , this is pure manipulation of news, as CNN said "Israel continues to control the Media coverage". Now you can do all actions remove , bite, advertise, I go for Dinner, look Canal+ les guignols. The rest I leave to Sarkozy french diplomacy, he stopped already the Georgia war, so he will broker this peace. Have a nice peacefull Evening, this was independant News session from Solarlife  Europe.Hope everybody enjoyed the ride.

I'm sorry - I don't understand what this means:

so the Tikun group Israel bought the Title , needed a long time for the truth against me, you will see tomorrow military writers need no advertising on my articles, CNN is over Propaganda writing you should stay neutral , this is pure manipulation of news, as CNN said "Israel continues to control the Media coverage". Now you can do all actions remove , bite, advertise, I go for Dinner, look Canal+ les guignols.

Can you explain more?