Prime Minister Tony Abbott is calling for a ceasefire in Gaza “immediately, by both sides”.  This comes after the US and United Nations condemned Israel’s shelling of a UN-run school in northern Gaza that housed Palestinians seeking refuge, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 100.

Abbott tried to walk the same balanced path that US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have tread, asserting that Israel has the right to defend itself and that the Australian government supported Palestinian statehood.  But that support had to go “hand in hand” with the recognition of Israel’s right to exist.

Earlier, Ban Ki-moon said Israel’s shelling of the refugee center at the school was “outrageous and unjustifiable” and demanded “accountability and justice”.  The White House condemned the shelling, but did not assign blame directly on Israel. 

About 3,300 people were crammed into Jabaliya Elementary A&B Girls’ School when the first of five Israeli shells came crashing down.  Witnesses described the usual horrors:  pools of blood, bodies splayed about the wreckage.  Later, another 16 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a marketplace.

Gaza officials say at least 1,361 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have now been killed in the battered enclave.  Israel has lost 56 soldiers and three civilians.  Israel’s military says it is calling up 16,000 more reserves for more Gaza fighting.