A United Nations report criticized the Israeli military for striking U.N. facilities during its recent offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians inspect damage at UN school housing displaced people after it was hit in Israeli shelling in Gaza, 17 Jan 2009

A summary of the report released Tuesday said Israel was responsible for what it called intentional attacks on U.N. property, including U.N. schools serving as refugee shelters.

It accused the Israeli military of negligence or recklessness in several incidents.

The report is a result of an investigation commissioned by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  

Mr. Ban noted the report does not make legal findings and does not consider questions of legal liability. He said he wanted a clear record of the facts, bearing in mind the complexities of the overall situation.

The report goes next to the U.N. Security Council for consideration.

Israel sharply criticized the findings as biased, and accused investigators of ignoring information Israel provided about the offensive.

Israel said it launched its three-week campaign in Gaza late last December to stop Hamas militants from firing rockets into its territory.

In a separate development, the U.N. Committee against Torture has asked Israel to answer questions about the alleged existence of a secret interrogation center referred to as "Facility 1391."

The committee of 10 independent experts asked Israel to respond to allegations that Israeli security forces had tortured Palestinian detainees. Israel defended its record, and said all allegations of torture had been investigated by "competent authorities"

U.N. investigators are meeting in Geneva this week to prepare for an upcoming trip to the Middle East to probe allegations of human rights violations committed during Israel's Gaza offensive.

Palestinian officials said some 1,400 Palestinians were killed, including more than 900 civilians. Israel said most of those killed were armed men. Thirteen Israelis also died during the campaign.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.