A/HRC/12/48 page 134 1. The immediate context 547. Shelling had been ongoing since the night of 14 January. The areas of Tal el-Hawa and southern Rimal had come under attack. There had been shelling close to the UNRWA compound at various points during the night. In the morning of 15 January staff in the UNRWA compound were instructed to remain inside as much as possible. 2. The risks 548. The UNRWA compound contained, among other things, a substantial fuel depot. The depot has an underground storage facility, which at the time had about 120,000 litres of fuel. Fuel tankers parked above ground had around 49,000 litres of fuel in them. In addition to the obvious and immediate risk of fire in these circumstances, the compound also stored large quantities of medical supplies, food, clothing and blankets in the warehouses. 549. Conservative estimates suggest that between 600 and 700 civilians were taking shelter in the compound at that time. 550. The principal and immediate risk was, therefore, of what might have been a catastrophic fire caused by the ignition of the fuel in the direct vicinity of the site where hundreds of civilians had sought shelter directly in response to the Israeli warnings of 3 January 2009. 3. The strikes 551. The Mission considers the witnesses it interviewed about this incident to be reliable and credible. After careful analysis of the information it received, the Mission finds that the following can be established with a high degree of certainty: 552. Three high explosive shells hit the compound. Two landed on the Gaza Training Centre and one landed in the car park. Complete or substantial parts of seven white phosphorous container shells landed in the compound. The wedges in these container shells were either discharged totally or very substantially in the compound. One shell, which was seen directly by a senior international staff member with many years’ of active military service, detonated on impact or only a very short distance from the ground. 553. One high explosive shell struck the Gaza Training Centre’s yard and was witnessed by at least two guards and left a crater. 554. Two high explosive shells landed on the roof of the education building. There are two large holes in the roof and shrapnel all around. 555. A white phosphorous container shell struck the Project and Logistics Division Building. 556. One white phosphorous container shell hit the back of a vehicle in the spare parts store, coming through a wall on the south side at a high point. This is believed to have caused the fire to start in the workshop area.