Israel has allowed the mobilization of another 16,000 army reservists to join the war against Hamas militants in Gaza strip, as the number of dead rose to over 1,300 in less than a month. 

This latest deployment to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) will beef up reservist ranks in active duty to 86,000 in the Gaza strip, as Israel boost its bid to defeat the "terrorist" Hamas militants controlling the border, Agence France Presse reported.

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The mobilization of new soldiers was ordered following the televised public address of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who called on Israel's citizens to brace for a "prolonged" war with Hamas and other militants.

Netanyahu said the military offensive - from ground operation to aerial and naval assaults - will continue in Gaza until its desired goal is attained.

Israel said its army is "a few days away" from destroyng all the tunnels dug by the militants in the heavily fortified border to carry out attacks in Israel. At least 32 tunnels were uncovered and demolished by the ground forces invading the Gaza, IDF said.

The announcement on new reserve mobilizations comes as the Israel-Hamas war escalated, where more than 100 people killed in a single day.

Israel shelled a United Nations-run Jabalya refugee camp on Wednesday that killed 15 people, including U.N. staff, and wounded hundreds of others. Another 17 people were killed in an assault of a market in Shejaiya, near Gaza City.

The U.N. has condemned the shelling and called on Israel to stop attacking U.N. facilities. The attacks had come despite the several warnings and advisories the U.N. sent to Israel regarding the precise locations of theses facilities.

"It is unjustifiable, and demands accountability and justice," UN chief Ban Ki-moon said of the attacks.

The United States said it had granted the request of Israel for more more mortar and artillery ammunition. Some of these will come from a U.S. stockpile in Israel stored for emergency purposes, AFP reported.

The U.S. has also condemned the shelling of a U.N. facility on Wednesday, in a statement carefully designed not to put blame on Israel, its long-time ally.

The three-week armed conflict has claimed the lives of 1,363 Palestinians as of Wednesday, while Israel said 56 soldiers have been killed since the conflict began on July 8.

Despite international calls to end the violence, the efforts of negotiators to come up with a truce appear to be failing, with both sides insistent with its offensives. Both Hamas militants and Israel accuse each other of killing civilians, and say they will continue their attacks. 

TagsIsrael, Hamas, Gaza Strip, Gaza