Israel faced growing international condemnation of its operation in Gaza on Monday, with France calling for action over "massacres" in the besieged Palestinian territory after a strike next to a U.N. school.

As Israel's operation in Gaza entered its 28th day, the international community appeared to be losing patience with a confrontation the Palestinians say has left more than 1,800 dead.

Russia said Monday it had called on Israel to agree to a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, in a phone call between the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also told his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman that the foes "should reach an agreement that excludes the return to violence in which mostly innocent civilians suffer".

Jon Voight has slammed Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz over their recent open letter comments branding Israel’s actions in Gaza as "genocide."

The actor, and father of Angelina Jolie, slated the couple for their "ignorance" in a seething column for the Hollywood Reporter.

Lying on his bed in a Gaza hospital, three-year-old Yamin now sees the world from behind burns which have disfigured him for life.

The tiny boy is just one of hundreds of burn victims and those wounded by Israeli shell fire overwhelming Gaza's sole working operating theater for plastic surgeons.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani denounced Monday the "inaction" of the U.N. Security Council on Gaza, describing the conflict as a genocidal massacre of Palestinians by Israel.

Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil called on Monday on the international community to support Lebanon and offer aid to the Lebanese army to confront terrorism, considering the region to be stuck between Islamist groups and Israel.

“Terrorism is moving from an area to another but it will surely be buried on Lebanese territories,” Bassil said during a meeting for the Palestine Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Tehran.

The conflict in Gaza should  not be an excuse for anti-Semitic slurs and attacks, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said late Sunday.

Ban "deplores the recent upsurge in anti-Semitic attacks, particularly in Europe, in connection with protests concerning the escalation of violence in Gaza," read a statement from the U.N. leader's spokesman.

The Israeli army on Sunday confirmed the death of missing soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin by checking the DNA of parts of his body that were found in a tunnel.

Goldin went missing in action on Friday following a deadly incident in southern Gaza on Friday morning in which two other soldiers were killed, with Israel saying it suspected he had been snatched by Palestinian militants. 

Israel on Sunday opted to unilaterally redeploy its troops in Gaza without the need for dialogue with Hamas, which it has been battling since July 17.

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also appeared to rule out talks on long-term arrangements or even on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying: "Hamas can carry on waiting."

A Palestinian delegation including Hamas agreed joint demands Sunday to present to Egyptian mediators in Cairo for a truce with Israel, including an end to the Gaza blockade, officials said.

The delegation, which includes members of President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority and Gaza's Hamas rulers, will meet the Egyptian mediators later on Sunday.