The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to 22, the State Department said Wednesday.
That is an increase from the 14 who had been confirmed dead one day earlier.
U.S. citizens also are among the estimated 150 hostages captured by Hamas during its shocking weekend assault on Israel, President Joe Biden confirmed Tuesday. The war has already claimed at least 2,200 lives on both sides
Biden, who is set to meet with Jewish leaders later Wednesday, sought to connect the attacks by Hamas militants directly to decades of antisemitism and violence endured by Jews around the world.
"This attack has brought to the surface the painful memories and scars left by a millennium of antisemitism and genocide against the Jewish people," President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday. "We have to be crystal clear: There is no justification for terrorism
"No excuse. And the type of terrorism exhibited here is just beyond the pale, beyond the pale.
"As I said yesterday, my commitment to Israel's security and the safety of the Jewish people is unshakeable.
"The United States has Israel's back and we're going to be working on this through the day and beyond."
Biden said he and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It was at least the fourth call between Biden and Netanyahu since Saturday's attack.
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