Biden condemned Saturday’s attacks by Hamas on Israel, calling it “an act of sheer evil” and saying the US will “stand with Israel” and provide whatever assistance it needs.

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday called Hamas’ attack on Israel “pure unadulterated evil” and said Israel has a duty and a right to respond to the terrorists’ “vicious attacks”.

The US will “stand with Israel”, Biden said from the White House. “We’ll make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of itself.”

“Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond – indeed has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks,” he said, adding that the US response in a similar situation would be “swift, decisive and overwhelming".

Hamas militants attacked Israel on Saturday, killing more than 900 people, including at least 14 Americans. Israel has responded with a siege and heavy bombing of the Gaza Strip.

Biden said there were at least 14 American citizens among the 1,000 people killed in the fighting, with others taken as hostages.

The president condemned what he termed “an act of sheer evil” from Hamas and said there was no justification for the “rampages” by the terrorists.

People in Israel suffered “pure unadulterated evil” at the “bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews. This is an act of sheer evil,” Biden said.

“Parents butchered using their bodies to try to protect their children – stomach-turning reports of babies being killed, entire families slain. Young people massacred while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace.

“Women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies. Families hidden in fear for hours and hours, desperately trying to keep their children quiet to avoid drawing attention. And thousands of wounded, alive but carrying with them the bullet holes and the shrapnel wounds and the memory of what they endured,” he said. “You all know these traumas never go away.”

The identities of US citizens killed or missing have not yet been announced by officials.

Standing alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Biden also said the US is sharing intelligence with Israel and has deployed experts to “consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts”.

“As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world,” he added.

Biden also delivered a warning to other groups or countries in the region. “To anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t.”

The White House said Tuesday night that Biden and Harris spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, where they pledged to supply fresh ammunition for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.

“Let there be no doubt - the United States has Israel’s back,” Biden said. “We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have.”