ISRAEL mobilised 16,000 more reservists today to press its bloody war against the people of Palestine, taking the total extra mobilisation to 86,000.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have died in three weeks of fighting in the Gaza Strip, according to the enclave’s health ministry.

Civilians make up more than three-quarters of the dead and a majority of the wounded, according to the United Nations.

International condemnation continued over Israel’s shelling on Wednesday of a UN-run school housing more than 3,000 refugees in Jebaliya — on a day where 116 Palestinians were killed.

“It is outrageous. It is unjustifiable. And it demands accountability and justice,” said UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon.

“Nothing is more shameful than attacking sleeping children.”

But the US continued to undermine peace efforts in an amazing display of two-faced diplomacy.

While the White House made a mealy-mouthed statement saying that it “condemned the shelling,” it did so without once mentioning that Israel was culpable.

And even as that statement was being made, the Pentagon was rearming the butchers of Gaza.

The Department of Defence HQ admitted yesterday that it had responded favourably to an Israeli military request for additional ammunition to restock its dwindling supplies on July 20 and the department had approved the sale just three days later.

“The United States is committed to the security of Israel and it is vital to US national interests to assist Israel to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defence capability,” said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby.

“This defence sale is consistent with those objectives.”

The requested munitions came from a billion-dollar stockpile of ammunition stored by the US military on the ground in Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel pressed ahead with its offensive saying it was only days from achieving its core goal of destroying all cross-border tunnels — insisting that their existence was military and ignoring their use as the only means Gaza had of keeping its economy going in the face of an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Israel said it would continue destroying them despite any proposed ceasefire.