Washington / PNN /

President Joe Biden has retracted his earlier remarks regarding what he described as the heinous war crimes committed by Hamas in the last two days.

The White House has also backtracked on President Joe Biden's statements expressing his dismay over violent images of an attack by fighters from the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas.

Citing an official in the American administration, CNN reported that these statements were based on "allegations" made by Israeli officials and local media reports.

The official clarified that Biden and the American officials "did not see these images and did not independently verify that Hamas is behind these allegations..

The White House clarification came a few hours after the President's speech during a meeting with Jewish community leaders, where he stated that Americans need to see what is happening, expressing disbelief at “seeing terrorists beheading children.”

During his meeting with Jewish community leaders at the White House, Biden stated that he did not think he would "see images of terrorists beheading children."

The Washington Post quoted a White House spokesperson as saying, “Neither President Biden nor any American official has seen any images or independently confirmed reports about this.”

The spokesperson added that Biden's statements about the alleged atrocities were based on the claims of the Israeli Prime Minister's spokesperson, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israeli media reports.

Hamas had affirmed in a statement that Palestinian resistance does not target children, urging Western media to exercise accuracy and not to be biased towards the Israeli narrative.

In this context, a US official told Al Jazeera that Biden's statements about alleged atrocities by Hamas were sourced from Israeli officials' remarks.

President Biden had stated - during a speech to a group of American Jews - that he informed the Israeli Prime Minister of the necessity for Israel to adhere to the rules of war, while reaffirming his country's commitment to Israel's security.

Biden also expressed his willingness to meet all of Israel's military needs "for self-defense," including providing ammunition and missiles for the Iron Dome, stating that he informed the Israeli Prime Minister that Israel's response to the military operation that surprised them must be decisive.