Ban Ki-moon 'alarmed' at use of UN schools in Gaza as weapons cache

Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has said he was "alarmed" to hear that rockets were placed in a UN-run school in Gaza and now "have gone missing," and he demanded a full review of such incidents.

A statement by Ban's spokesman expressed the UN chief's "outrage and regret" at the placement of weapons at a site run by the organization. The UN said this had happened at least twice so far in the current fighting. "Those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children," UN staff and anyone seeking shelter, the statement said.

The rockets had been placed at one of the schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)  in Gaza. Once they were found, "in accordance with standard practice, UNRWA handed them over to the local authorities. Since then, they have gone missing," Ban's deputy spokesman, Farhan Haq, said in an e-mail to the 'Associated Press' on Wednesday.

Hamas has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. The United States, Israel and the European Union all consider Hamas a terrorist organization, but the UN does not.

A week ago, UNRWA said that during a routine check it discovered about 20 rockets hidden in one of its vacant Gaza schools and called on militants to respect the "sanctity and integrity" of UN property. It said the incident had been "the first of its kind in Gaza."

On Tuesday, UNRWA reported a second incident, saying it found rockets hidden at a vacant school during a regular inspection. "UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets," its statement said. "The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons."

The statement said UNRWA was looking at all possible ways to safely remove the rockets and would investigate the incident.

Canada outraged at rocket find in schools

Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird said in a statement that he was appalled to hear reports of the stockpiling of rockets in UN facilities. He called on the world body to launch an immediate independent investigation. "Even more alarming were reports that in the first case, officials with the United Nations returned these weapons to Hamas, a listed terrorist organization, once Israeli officials discovered their location," he said.

The UN statement said Ban had asked for the immediate development of a plan to safely handle any weapons found on UN premises, and had told the UN Mine Action Service to immediately send people to deal with the situation of the missing rockets. "The United Nations is taking concerted action to increase its vigilance in preventing such episodes from happening again," the statement said.