On January 15, the IDF shelled a storage facility within the compound of the UN headquarters for Gaza, containing tons of food and sheltering hundreds of Palestinian refugees.[7] According to United Nations personnel, unexploded ordnance analysis demonstrates that the compound was hit with 155m white phosphorus ammunition.[8] The facility did not have the equipment to extinguish the chemical fire and it spread towards several fuel tanks.[9] The UN asked the IDF for a local ceasefire in order to try to put out the fires, but the request was denied.[10] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon expressed "strong protest and outrage". An Israeli Defence Spokesperson was quoted as saying "We regret that such an incident occurred, I am sorry for it however Hamas fired rockets and troops received fire coming from within the site."[11] The United Nations has dismissed the Israeli explanation as "total nonsense".[12] A senior UN official who was inside the building when it was attacked also denounced the Israeli statements as false and said that there were only non combatants in the building.[13] The report from Israeli Government quotes findings of the UN Board Inquiry into the incident: the Board "was not within its scope to assess general allegations or denials" regarding "possible military activity close to United Nations premises and possible military use of nearby buildings". The Israeli position on this incident is that the incident "took place during intense fighting, which involved Hamas’ deployment of anti-tank units equipped with advanced anti-tank missiles north of the UNRWA compound", which posed threat to IDF forces in the area.