In a number of incidents “too numerous to list” the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) “recklessly and intentionally” put Palestinian children, civilians and aid workers in danger during their 22-day onslaught on Gaza, that is the scathing verdict of a 43-paged UN report.

The UN Secretary General also accused Israel of lying about attacks on UN schools and other facilities during the Gaza military campaign - including one reported to have killed more than 40 people, and demanded compensation. Ban Ki-moon also said a UN investigation found conclusively that Israeli weaponry, some containing white phosphorus, was “the indisputed cause” of attacks on several schools, a health clinic and the world body’s Gaza headquarters.

The first of 11 recommendations calls for the UN to seek “formal acknowledgment by the government of Israel that its public statements alleging that Palestinians fired” from within the UN’…