ISLAMABAD- Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said that Israeli “atrocities” against Palestinians in Gaza amount to genocide, the PM office said today.

In a statement Nawaz Sharif said that these crimes against innocent civilian women children and elderly people are unparalleled in the recent history of the world. The Israeli army has resumed air strikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip as rocket firing from the coastal enclave continues, Israeli and Palestinian media reported.

"I am saddened and disappointed to note the silence of international community against this injustice,” Nawaz Sharif said. The Prime Minister said the silence and ineffectiveness of Muslim nations has made Palestinians more vulnerable and made Israel more aggressive. “World must stop Israel from this naked and brutal aggression", said the Prime Minister.

Hamas has rejected an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire proposal, saying the cease fire agreement is a “surrender" agreement. In a statement posted in its website Hamas insisted that Israel should release 56 Palestinians affiliated with the organization, who were arrested in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank last month, following the kidnap and killing of three Israeli teens.