US Office of Palestine Affairs Calls on Israel Not to Retaliate Against Hamas Attack

In a now deleted social media post, the U.S. Office of Palestine Affairs called on Israel to "refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks" after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel Saturday that has resulted in hundreds dead, injured and kidnapped.

"We unequivocally condemn the attack of Hamas terrorists and the loss of life that has incurred," the post read. "We urge all sides to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks. Terror and violence solve nothing."

Though deleted, the post was screen captured by several X users. The legitimacy of these images was confirmed by the Jerusalem Post.

The U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs was re-started by President Joe Biden in June 2022, following former President Donald Trump's decision to fold the office into the Israel consulate when he moved it to Jerusalem.

Following the deletion of the post, the Office of Palestine Affairs posted again to say it is "closely monitoring the security situation" and re-shared posts on X from State Department officials condemning Hamas' actions and supporting Israel.

Biden and other administration officials have said they stand with Israel and support its defensive military actions.