The United States has offered "rock solid and unwavering" support to Israel, where Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a wave of rocket attacks on October 7, killing hundreds of civilians.

The United States stands with the people of Israel...This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering," US president Joe Biden said in a series of posts on microblogging platform X.

“In this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere that the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back," he said.

Let me say this as clearly as I can.

This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage.My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.— President Biden (@POTUS) October 7, 2023

Biden added that the US will make sure that Israel has the help its citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.

Earlier in the day, the US president had posted that the world was seeing appalling images. “Thousands of rockets raining down on Israeli cities. Hamas terrorists killing not only Israeli soldiers, but civilians on the streets and in their homes. It’s unconscionable. Israel has a right to defend itself – full stop.”

Meanwhile, Israel has already responded with a wave of air strikes on Gaza, killing more than 230 people, media reports quoted officials as saying.

According to a senior administration official cited by PTI, Biden has received a full briefing on the situation and developments in Israel and he has directed full engagement with Israeli counterparts and with regional counterparts.

“Immediately after that call, the President called Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu. The prime minister on that call made very clear this was an unprecedented day for Israel,” the official added.

“We have a very close partnership with Israel. We always share timely intelligence about threats in the regions with Israel and other partners but in particular with Israel. The President directed his team to ensure providing all that support for Israel that it needs now,” he further said.

The remarks come as dozens of Hamas militants, backed by a barrage of rockets, broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing dozens and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday on October 7.

Following which, a stunned Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza, with its prime minister saying the country is now at war with Hamas and vowing to inflict an “unprecedented price.”

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas gunmen rolled into as many as 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the Gaza border.

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In some places, they roamed for hours, gunning down civilians and soldiers as Israel's military scrambled to muster a response. Gunbattles continued well after nightfall, and militants held hostages in standoffs in two towns and occupied a police station in a third.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson, in a live briefing on X, said that the unprecedented attack on Israeli citizens will generate an unprecedented response from Israel.

“Hamas is responsible for this. Each and every Israeli and each and every Palestinian who is killed, it's on Hamas.

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"Our response will be unlike anything we have delivered in the past. This is going to be a long and difficult war. We will strike back. We will make Hamas pay a price they have never paid," the IDF spokesperson said.

Catch latest updates on Israel-Palestine war here