U.S. President Biden vows 'rock solid' support, aid for Israel

U.S. condemns Hamas attacks on Israel; Biden vows to ensure ally has means to defend itself; Trump blames Biden for indirectly funding attacks;

The United States on Saturday condemned the attacks by "Hamas terrorists" against Israel and vowed to ensure the key U.S. ally has the means to defend itself.

President Joe Biden described the assault as "a terrible tragedy on a human level" and said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to underline his support.

"I told him the United States stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults," Biden said in a televised address from the White House.

"In my administration, support for Israel's security is rock solid and unwavering.

"We'll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves."

As the attacks threatened to trigger a wider conflict, Biden also warned "this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching."

Biden stressed that Israel -- which the United States has supplied with billions of dollars of arms -- has "a right to defend itself" after the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas launched air, sea and land strikes.