Gaza City, October 15 (RHC)-- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an independent investigation into Israel's deadly shelling of a UN-run school during the Tel Aviv regime's latest onslaught on the Gaza Strip. The UN head expressed shock at the devastation during his Tuesday visit to some of the areas worst hit during the Israeli raids on Gaza in July and August, saying: "No amount of Security Council sessions, reports or briefings could have prepared me for what I witnessed today."

The secretary general also visited a UN school in Jabaliya, where tank shells struck two classrooms in July, leaving about 20 people sheltering there dead. He told reporters: "The shelling of the United Nations school is absolutely unacceptable. These actions must be fully and independently investigated."

After meeting several Palestinian officials, Ban described the devastation as worse than any such destruction in the Israeli offensive against Gaza in winter 2008-2009. He said: "This is a much more serious destruction than what I saw in 2009." He also urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace negotiations immediately.

Gaza health officials say over 2,140 Palestinians, including 577 children, were killed in the Israeli onslaught. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were wounded.

More than 15,600 housing units were also damaged in the attacks, while over 2,200 houses were totally destroyed, according to official figures released by Palestinian sources.

The UN has estimated that 400,000 Gazan children are in need of psychological care as a result of not just the latest onslaught on the territory but the three previous actions of Israeli military aggression since 2006.