Pakistani political leaders on Sunday strongly condemned Israel’s ‘disproportionate reaction’ to Saturday’s surprise attacks by Hamas, which has been fighting against the Israeli occupation of Palestine for a long time. 

President Dr Arif Alvi said progress towards peace cannot be materialized without condemnation of usurpation and brutalization of Palestinian rights and people by Israel.

In a tweet on the social media platform X, Alvi said continuous annexation of land, illegal settlements, disproportionate reactions and killings diminish the hope for peace. He said that time has come to move forward in line with UN resolutions. He said the international community can play a big role today in world peace.

Former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif too reacted to the ongoing tensions between Palestine and Israel.

In a statement issued here, former president Asif Zardari sympathised with the Palestinians, saying the sympathies and prayers of the people of Pakistan were with them. The PPP co-chairman added that Palestinian people had been facing atrocities for a long time.

Former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Hamas attacks on Israel were a reaction to Israeli actions on Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy places.

In a statement issued here, the PML-N president called for immediate resolution of the territorial conflict, observing that Israel was depriving the Palestinians of their right to self-determination. He said it was imperative to end Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians and its illegal occupation.

At least 313 Palestinians have so far been killed in air strikes by Israel in Gaza, according to Palestine’s health ministry, taking the death toll past 550. The ministry said that nearly more than 2,000 have been wounded in the escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Earlier, Hamas gunmen carried out a deadly rampage in Israeli towns on Saturday, killing at least 250 Israelis in the deadliest day of violence in Israel for 50 years.