UN appoints panel of inquiry to probe deaths at Gaza compounds

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday appointed a board of inquiry into incidents that caused deaths and destruction at UN compounds in Gaza Strip during the recent Israel-Hamas conflict.

The board will be headed by Ian Martin, a Briton that has led various crucial UN missions around the world, who is called to complete the inquiry and submit a report within one month.

Ban said the board will comprise legal advisers and a military expert.

The UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees in the Middle East maintains several offices and schools throughout Gaza, which have been used to shelter thousands of people who fled the fighting.

A number of Palestinians died at its compounds during the Israel Defense Forces' 22-day offensive in Gaza.

The UN last week reversed its stance on one of the most contentious and bloody incidents of the recent Israel Defense Forces operation in Gaza, saying that an IDF mortar strike that killed 43 people on January 6 did not hit a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school after all.

UNRWA, an agency whose sole purpose is to work with Palestinian refugees, said in response that it had maintained from the day of attack that the wounded were outside of the school compound. UNRWA said the mistake had originated with a separate branch of the United Nations.

The intense three weeks of fighting, which erupted on December 27, has killed more than 1,300 people and injured thousands in Gaza. A shaky cease-fire was being implemented by both sides and a formal deal for a long-term truce between Israel and Hamas is progressing, official party to the talks have said.

The high number of civilian deaths in Gaza has prompted demands for an international investigation, which are supported by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and the UN in New York.

"The UN will engage in an ... independent investigation," Ban said at a press conference at UN headquarters in New York.

Ban said he plans to attend a peace and humanitarian conference in Cairo on March 2 organized by the European Union, the UN and the governments of Egypt and Norway.

"It is critical that we consolidate the ceasefire [in Gaza], promote Palestinian unity and revive the peace process," he said.

Ban praised U.S. President Barack Obama for his quick decision to appoint a special envoy for the Middle East, former US Senator George Mitchell, who already visited several capitals in the region.

"As secretary general of the UN, I will devote every effort to helping push the peace process forward," he said.