Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea considered on Thursday that Lebanon has been drawn back to a “pre-historic” phase, not because of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's acts, but because of some political factions' stances.

“The presidential vacuum that we are witnessing is unacceptable, and it is no longer a farce only but a tragedy that is being reflected in a parliamentary and a ministerial vacuum,” Geagea stated during a meeting with a delegation of the World Lebanese Cultural Union.

U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday slammed what she said was Israel's "deliberate defiance" of international law during the Gaza conflict.

Pillay lambasted the country's attacks on homes, schools, hospitals and United Nations facilities which are sheltering 250,000 civilians in Gaza.

Dutch police have arrested two people for allegedly chanting "Death to the Jews" at a pro-Palestinian demonstration, the public prosecutor's office said on Thursday.

The French government is seeking to disband a radical Jewish group involved in recent clashes with pro-Palestinian activists during rallies against the Gaza offensive, a source told AFP Thursday.

News of the mooted ban came as France's main Jewish group prepared to stage a pro-Israel gathering in Paris, in response to weeks of protests marred by clashes, arrests and allegations of anti-Semitism.

Israel mobilised 16,000 additional reservists, taking their total to 86,000, as military operations in the Gaza Strip continue, an army spokeswoman said Thursday.

The United States confirmed Wednesday it had restocked Israel's supplies of ammunition, hours after issuing a strong condemnation of an attack on a United Nations school in Gaza.

Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip early Wednesday killed seven people, medics said, bringing to 1,364 the Palestinian death toll from a bloody 24-day conflict.

Amid the escalating death toll in Gaza, U.S. officials finally sharpened their tone Wednesday condemning an attack on a U.N. school as patience with "crazy" Israeli criticism of would-be-peacemaker John Kerry snapped.

An Israeli delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss with Egyptian officials a possible ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, airport officials said.

Cairo, a key mediator in truce negotiations between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, was also expected to host a Palestinian delegation later this week.

The Swiss foreign ministry said Wednesday it is in talks about holding an international conference sought by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas focusing on protecting civilians in Gaza.

"Switzerland has begun consultations with state parties to the Geneva Conventions, following an official Palestinian request that a conference be held by the end of the year," said a ministry statement.