President Joe Biden offered empathy and promises of enduring support in response to the assault on Israel this weekend, saying the U.S. partner must defend itself and urging against seeing Palestinian militants as reflective of the entire Palestinian cause.

We stand with Israel, and we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, to defend itself and to respond to this attack, Biden said in Tuesday remarks at the White House. This is what they mean by human tragedy: an atrocity on an appalling scale ... Our hearts may be broken, but our resolve is clear.

The president repeatedly condemned the militant group Hamas, which led fighters in a shocking attack on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 that killed hundreds of people.

The brutality of Hamas... brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS, Biden said. Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian peoples right to dignity and self-determination ... Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed, with no regard to who pays the price.

At least 14 Americans were killed in the Hamas offensive, and the group is detaining some U.S. citizens, Biden said.

Since Saturday, Israels military has pummeled Gaza the Palestinian territory where Hamas is based with airstrikes, and has pledged a larger offensive that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said would reverberate... for generations.

Biden hinted at concerns about the civilian toll of Israels operations, saying he told Netanyahu that democracies like Israel and the U.S. are stronger when they follow international norms about targeting only combatants.

Terrorists purposely target civilians and kill them. We uphold the laws of war, Biden said. It matters. Theres a difference.

From being Israels chief supplier of military equipment to acting as its longtime security guarantor in a part of the world where many question its right to exist, the U.S. is the countrys most important foreign friend. The Biden administration has deployed additional forces to the region recently to show solidarity with Israel, but it has ruled out the prospect of deploying American troops to participate in the fighting.

The death toll on both sides as of Tuesday exceeded 1,700 people. Israel is widely expected to launch a ground invasion of Gaza soon.

The U.S. is working to expedite weapon transfers to Israel, a Defense Department official told reporters on Monday. Lawmakers are urging consistent demonstrations of American support for the longtime U.S. partner, with top Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives announcing Tuesday that they will soon pass a bipartisan resolution condemning Hamas.