A/HRC/27/76 Gaza—had been displaced, including approximately 289,109 people, who were sheltering in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), 48,742 people in government shelters and at least 140,895 who were staying with relatives.17 24. OHCHR preliminary monitoring and external reports on the conduct of hostilities by the Israeli forces raised concerns under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In particular, serious questions arose over the apparent failure to respect the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution under international humanitarian law in attacks, including the targeting of civilian objects, leading to the killing of civilians; the targeting of apparent military objectives, with possible failure to take all necessary precautions; attacks which may fail the proportionality test; indiscriminate attacks impacting the civilian population and civilian objects without distinction, especially during the ground operations; attacks on schools, including the UNRWA schools that were used as shelters for internally displaced persons, in breach of the inviolability of United Nations premises; attacks on hospitals, ambulances and ambulance staff; and allegations of the use of Palestinians as human shields. 18 25. OHCHR preliminary monitoring and external reports on the conduct of Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas, during hostilities also raised human rights concerns and concerns under international humanitarian law. Of particular concern were the indiscriminate nature of attacks and the placing of weapons in UNRWA schools, in breach of the inviolability of United Nations premises. There were also reports of military objects placed in populated areas; killing of persons suspected of collaborating with Israel; and alleged violation of the freedom of movement and right to physical integrity of members of Fatah. In addition, Israeli authorities alleged that tunnels for military purposes had been constructed under civilian objects; rocket attacks were launched from densely populated areas; hospitals and ambulances were used for military purposes;19 and the use of human shields.20 OHCHR continues to work to verify those reports and allegations. 26. The scale of hostilities far exceeded that of previous hostilities in 2012 and in 2008– 2009, in terms of duration and fatalities, and have resulted in an unprecedented level of destruction in Gaza. It has not yet been possible to assess the longer term impact of the destruction on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by Palestinians, but it is seems clear that enormous effort will be necessary to rebuild basic infrastructure and deal with the psychosocial consequences of the traumatic events. C. Promoting accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law 27. At this stage, it would be premature to even attempt to offer a comprehensive assessment of necessary accountability measures. Further information gathering, verification and analysis will be necessary in the coming months, before definite conclusions on violations and required accountability measures can be drawn. Current monitoring and investigation efforts are essential in order to establish the facts and pave the way for the establishment of such measures at the international level. Investigations and accountability measures by parties to the conflict, at the domestic level, are of critical 17 18 19 20 8 See www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_sitrep_26_08_2014.pdf. See www.dci-palestine.org/documents/israeli-forces-use-palestinian-child-human-shield-gaza. See www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/07/28/hamas-uses-hospitals-ambulances-military-purposes/. See www.idfblog.com/blog/2014/08/20/new-declassified-report-exposes-hamas-human-shieldpolicy/.