WASHINGTON, Feb 9, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Israel's military response in the Gaza Strip to the October 7 attacks by Hamas has been "over the top," US President Joe Biden said Thursday.
 
   "I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top," the 81-year-old Democrat told reporters at the White House.
 
   American support for Israel's war on the Palestinian Hamas has sparked a flurry of attacks on US troops in the region, as well as criticism of the Biden administration at home and abroad.
 
   Months of bombardment and siege have deepened a humanitarian crisis, especially in southern Gaza.
 
   But Biden said he had pushed to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
 
   He said Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi initially "did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in."
 
   "I talked to him, I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi to open the gate on the Israeli side," Biden continued, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
 
   "I've been pushing really hard, really hard to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza."
 
   Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
 
   Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and launched air strikes and a ground offensive that have killed at least 27,840 people, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.
 
   Hamas also seized around 250 hostages. Israel says 132 remain in Gaza, of whom 29 are believed to have died.
 
   The war has sparked a surge in violence across the region by Iran-backed groups operating in solidarity with Hamas, drawing retaliatory attacks from Israel and the United States and its allies.