Gaza crisis: US condemns fatal attack on UN school, says culprit unknown – as it happened

Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has repeatedly refused this morning to say whether he thought Israel’s actions in Gaza were disproportionate.

Asked five times on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme whether he thought Israel’s military action was disproportionate, he said there would be an evaluation of the offensive “in the fullness of time”.

The Foreign Secretary said “disproportionate” was an “emotive word”, before adding:

What Israel does in Gaza must be proportionate. That’s a requirement of international law.

It would not be legal if it was not proportionate.

After being asked a fifth time, said:

People will jump to judgments. In the fullness of time there will be proper evaluation of what has gone on, what these military actions were targeted against.

Israel will argue that the actions it has taken are taken against military targets and that Hamas has deliberately planted military installations in the middle of civilian areas, using civilians as human shields.

In due course, the claims on both sides will need to be investigated. What is needed right now is an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The Associated Press have a story about members of congress supporting a $225 million missile defence package for Israel.

The agency reports:

Democrats and Republicans in Congress vowed urgent support Tuesday for a $225 million missile defense package for Israel, boosting the likelihood that legislation will clear Congress before lawmakers begin a monthlong vacation at week’s end.

“Let’s stop playing games,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calling the assistance a necessity for the “life-or-death struggle Israel faces.”

[...]

Despite Graham’s admonition, neither Republicans who control the House nor Democrats who command a Senate majority have yet to announce plans for a vote on a stand-alone bill on the issue.

In the House, majority Republicans unveiled a measure to cope with an influx of younger immigrants reaching the United States illegally from Central America, and said funds for Israel would be handled in a separate bill that has yet to be made public.

[...]

In the Senate, Democrats have combined money for Israel, border security and wildfire assistance into one measure. But Republicans oppose it because of a disagreement over provisions relating to the immigrants now flooding into the country from the south.

Despite the apparent deadlock, there were signs of willingness to compromise.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was prepared to consider a stand-alone bill providing money for Israel. Across the Capitol, numerous Republican aides said the House would likely pass any legislation the Senate approves on the subject.

Despite the potential for compromise on missile defense, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell implicitly criticized the Obama administration for efforts to arrange a ceasefire he said would be imposed on Israel and reward Hamas for a “campaign of terror.”

“I support any effort which brings this campaign to an end in a manner that increases Israel’s security,” McConnell said Tuesday. “That means that Hamas cannot be left with a large stockpile of missiles and rockets, cannot be left with infiltration tunnels — they must be destroyed. Hamas cannot be allowed to aggressively rest, refit and build up weapons stockpiles.”

Channel 4 News journalist Jonathan Miller gives a frank and heartfelt interview to LBC radio. He calls the situation there: “The most shocking thing I’ve seen in all my years of journalism.”

A update report from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) states that relief operations in Gaza are at breaking point:

UNRWA is working desperately to meet the needs of a growing population of displaced across the Gaza Strip and to prepare for even further displacement. In a number of areas, all available UNRWA schools have already reached or exceeded maximum capacity. In some areas the only option now is for government schools to be utilized as emergency shelters to be managed by local communities and provided with essential food, water, non food items (NFIs) and generators by UNRWA.

The agency is now providing shelter to approximately 182,604 beneficiaries in all five areas of the Gaza Strip, with 82 designated emergency shelters.

The agency has launched an “emergency flash appeal” for funds.

UNRWA has launched an emergency flash appeal for US$ 115 million to provide emergency assistance to 150,000 people through its shelters- where food, NFI and psychosocial support are provided- and through health and social service facilities available to those not taking refuge in UNRWA shelters. This funding will also allow UNRWA to start early recovery activities once hostilities cease.

For those less up to date on the history of the most recent conflict it also has some useful background:

Following the escalation in violence between Gaza and Israel in November 2012 an understanding was reached between Hamas and Israel, mediated by Egypt. 2013 was subsequently the quietest year in a decade, in terms of hostilities between Israel and Gaza. Events in 2014, however, have led to a profound deterioration in the situation.

The Israeli blockade of Gaza entered its 8th year in June 2014 and continues to have a devastating effect as access to markets and people’s movement to and from the Gaza Strip remain severely restricted. The economy and its capacity to create jobs has been devastated, with the majority of the population becoming dependent on humanitarian aid to meet basic needs. The number of Palestine refugees relying on UNRWA for food aid has increased from fewer than 80,000 in 2000 to over 830,000 today.

It also gives Gaza: Facts and Figures

1.2 million refugees

8 refugee camps

Over 12,500 staff

245 schools for more than 230,000 students

21 health centres

12 food distribution centres for more than 830,000 refugees

Living under a tightened land and sea blockade since 2007

Shattered local economy

A time-lapse video from Saudi Arabian television, first tweeted by Buzzfeed’s Middle East correspondent, Sheera Frenkel yesterday,appears to show Israeli
Army air strikes destroying a Gaza neighbourhood in an hour.

The footage, reportedly filmed before Saturday’s 12-hour ceasefire, begins at 4.02pm GMT and within an hour after repeated air strikes, the buildings are flattened.

The BBC are reporting that a Hamas military commander has rejected suggestions that the organisation is ready for a ceasefire.

In an audio recording, Mohammad Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing, said his soldiers were “eager for death”.

[...]

“We don’t accept any condition of ceasefire,” the Associated Press quoted Hamas commander Mohammad Deif as saying. “There is no ceasefire without the stop of the aggression and the end of the siege.”

Israel and Egypt have imposed a blockade on Gaza and restricted the entry of goods since 2007.

An Israeli intelligence officer who works in the West Bank has told a Buzzfeed reporter that the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens on June 12 - which sparked the renewed conflict in Gaza - may not have been order by Hamas. The officer spoke under condition of anonymity, and his identity cannot be confirmed by the Guardian.

“That announcement was premature,” the intelligence officer said. “If there was an order, from any of the senior Hamas leadership in Gaza or abroad, this would be an easier case to investigate. We would have that intelligence data. But there is no data, so we have come to conclude that these men were acting on their own.”

The report continues:

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the BBC last week that police believed the killers did not have ties to Hamas in Gaza — but did to Hamas in the West Bank. But the Israeli intelligence officer noted that the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, and Israeli intelligence are the ones taking the lead on the investigation, not the police.

Like other Israeli military officials, the officer said he was worried that events on the ground had been misrepresented by politicians. Netanyahu has long been pressed by more right-wing elements of his government to address Hamas’ growing popularity in the West Bank. In the month prior to the kidnapping, Israel had strongly lobbied against Hamas joining together in a unity government with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank — a move that brought Hamas into the fold of political life there and could, one day, allow its elected officials to openly campaign in the West Bank. “Hamas in the West Bank is fragmented, there are many factions — could these teens have broken off and called themselves a separate Hamas faction? Possibly. But that is not the most likely scenario, nor the one we are pursuing,” the officer said.

This morning’s shelling comes as a Palestinian delegation are preparing for a trip to Cairo to discuss a temporary humanitarian ceasefire.

The Palestine Liberation Organization, headquartered in the West Bank, said it had received support from Hamas for a 24-hour truce, but did not give details about when that could begin.

Yesterday senior Palestinian official Nabil Shaath told AFP that Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas “was in touch with (Hamas chief Khaled) Meshaal yesterday and today. He proposed the 24 hour truce, Meshaal and Hamas agreed.”

News agency AFP have tweeted a picture of a a Palestinian child in Kamal Edwan hospital, who it says was wounded in an Israeli strike on a UN school in Beit Lahia, Gaza.

At least 15 Palestinians have been killed and about 90 were injured early this morning when a UN school sheltering people was hit by shells.

My colleague Harriet Sherwood has written this story:

Gaza health officials said at least 43 people died in intense air strikes and tank shelling of Jabaliya, a neighbourhood of Gaza City. The death toll included the people at the school who had fled their own homes. Bombardment from Israeli gunboats continued without respite for much of the night.

The last two nights have seen the most fierce bombardment in this Gaza offensive, continues Harriet. In 23 days more than 1,240 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed. On the Israeli side 53 soldiers and three civilians have been killed.

A spokeswoman for the Israel Defence Forces said the military was investigating reports that a UN school had been struck.

We’ll have live coverage of the ongoing military campaign in Gaza here throughout the day.