The Israeli army are accused of committing war crimes during its offensive on Gaza in a report by New York-based Human Rights Watch.
The prominent human rights organisation said it investigated separate strikes on or near three UN-run schools in the Palestinian territory, noting that 45 people died in the attacks.
“The Israeli military carried out attacks on or near three well-marked schools where it knew hundreds of people were taking shelter, killing and wounding scores of civilians," Fred Abrahams, special adviser at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
"Israel has offered no convincing explanation for these attacks on schools where people had gone for protection and the resulting carnage."
The organisation said the attacks appeared indiscriminate and unlawfully disproportionate, adding that “unlawful attacks carried out wilfully – that is, deliberately or recklessly – are war crimes”.
Israel meanwhile announced it will launch an investigation into the killings of Palestinian civilians, including the attacks referred to in the HRW report and the killings of four children on a Gaza beach.