A/HRC/12/48 page 136 Israeli fire, the damage done to UNRWA installations, requests that fire be redirected or withdrawn, and coordination for the removal of fuel tankers. 568. Despite calls beginning at 8.14 a.m., it does not appear that COGAT/CLA was able to confirm that contact had been established with the relevant brigade until 11.06 a.m. 569. Other information available to the Mission shows that the Deputy Director of Operations of UNRWA, who was in Jerusalem at the time was engaged in frequent calls to senior Israeli officials. He had received a call at 9 a.m. from John Ging, the Director of Operations at UNRWA, advising him of the shelling near the compound and had been asked to demand that the shelling be stopped by calling the Israeli armed forces’ Humanitarian Coordination Centre (HCC) in Tel Aviv. He made a total of 26 calls to the head of HCC or to his assistant as well as to members of COGAT/CLA. He was assured on a number of occasions by the head of HCC that shelling had stopped, but it was clear when he relayed this message back to Gaza that shelling was continuing. The Deputy Director had warned of the immediate risk to the fuel depot and those seeking shelter. 5. Weapons used 570. Analysis of the shells used in the strikes that hit the UNRWA compound indicates clearly that at least seven shells were white phosphorous shells, three of which were complete and four of which were very substantial components of the shells. Military experts indicate that in all probability these shells were fired from a 155 mm Howitzer. 571. Three other missiles were determined clearly by UNRWA military experts to have been high explosive missiles. 6. The Israeli response 572. On 15 January the Israeli Defence Minister, Ehud Barak, said the attack had been a “grave error” and apologized, according to the United Nations Secretary–General, who had spoken with him earlier in a meeting in Tel Aviv. The same day the Israeli Prime Minister said that it was “absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologize for it”. The Israeli Welfare and Social Services Minister made subsequent statements suggesting there had been gunfire directed at Israeli troops from adjacent premises. He said it was shrapnel from the return fire that entered the UNRWA compound causing the blaze.367 573. On 22 April the summary of the conclusions of the Israeli armed forces’ investigations reported as follows: … the IDF deployed a smoke screen in order to protect a tank force operating in the neighbourhood from Hamas anti-tank crews who had positioned themselves adjacent to the UNRWA headquarters. The smoke screen was intended to block the terrorists' field of view. Information received by the IDF shows that the smoke screen did assist in protecting the force and prevented precise anti-tank fire against 367 http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1232292898771&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull.