“I won’t mince words. The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. In fact, they’re also suffering as a result of Hamas’ terrorism,” Biden wrote on X.

He added that this difference should be clearly recognized.

I won't mince words.

The overwhelming majority of Palestinians are not Hamas. And Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people.

In fact, they're also suffering as a result of Hamas' terrorism. We need to be clear-eyed about that reality.

— President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024

On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out an attack on Israel that killed some 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Israel’s retaliatory operations, which continue to this day, have already killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and forced about 90% of the territory’s more than 2 million residents to become internally displaced, according to Gaza’s health ministry.