What remains of a house destroyed by an overnight Israeli missile strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip (AP)

Alexei Sayle has fiercely condemned Israel’s air strikes in the Gaza Strip, by comparing the nation's behaviour to that of prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile.

The comedian's comments were released after Israel resumed airstrikes in the Gaza Strip – killing one Palestinian civilian - after Hamas rejected a ceasefire plan and continued rocket attacks. 166 people in Gaza have died in the week-long offensive, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

“Israel is the Jimmy Saville of nation states,” Sayle said on Tuesday during an interview with Caabu (Council for Arab-British Understanding).

“It clearly doesn't care about damaging the lives of children,” he added, referring to the late entertainer.

Sayle also described Israel as a “teenager that’s never been given any boundaries.”

“[Israel] is endlessly indulged by its doting parents, the West, and has become a psychopath as a result.

“It thinks that everybody else is in the wrong and it is in the right,” he said.

Now in its seventh day, fighting between Israel and Hamas shows no sign of abating. As Israel has amassed thousands of troops along the border in recent days, it is feared its military will soon send troops into Gaza.

But Israel argues that its offensive is targeting the homes of Hamas leaders and buildings allegedly used to store weapons and as meeting points for militants.

"The leadership of Hamas and the other organizations has chosen — at a time when they are using the population of Gaza as human shields — to hide underground, to flee abroad and to deliberately put civilians in the line of fire," Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Belfast Telegraph