IDF Artillery Corps firing shells towards Gaza, near the border with Southern Israel on July 18, 2014. A UN report on the Gaza war criticized both Israel and Hamas' actions during the conflict. Photo by Miriam Alster/Flash90

JNS.org – A United Nations inquiry into last summer’s war in Gaza criticized Israeli attacks against U.N. facilities during the conflict, while also slamming Hamas for using U.N. schools to store and fire rockets.

The U.N. only released a summary of the 207-page report along with a cover letter written by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The internal inquiry, led by retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert, is the first U.N. report to be issued on the Gaza conflict.

In his cover letter, Ban said he “deplored” Israeli actions that allegedly led to the deaths of 44 Palestinians at a U.N. building that was being used as a shelter during the conflict.

The report noted that the Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas rocket arsenals, not U.N. sites.

Ban also said he was “dismayed” that “Palestinian militant groups would put United Nations schools at risk by using them to hide their arms.”

“The fact that they were used by those involved in the fighting to store their weaponry and, in two cases, probably to fire from is unacceptable,” Ban wrote.

In a statement, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said that “all of the incidents attributed by the report to Israel have already been subject to thorough examinations, and criminal investigations have been launched where relevant. … Israel makes every effort to avoid harm to sensitive sites.”

The foreign ministry added that it was reviewing the letter and noted that it “clearly documents the exploitation by terrorist organizations of U.N. facilities in the Gaza Strip.”