US President Joe Biden delivered an address to the American people and the world today (Tuesday) on the Hamas terrorist attack on Simchat Torah in which over 1,000 Israelis were massacred.

"There are moments in this life, I mean this literally, when the pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. The people of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend," Biden said.

"The bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas, a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews," he added. "This was an act of sheer evil."

He described the extent of the barbarity of the Hamas assault. "More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered - not just killed, slaughtered, in Israel. Among them at least 14 American citizens killed."

"Parents butchered using their bodies to try to protect their children. Stomach-turning reports of babies being killed. Entire families slain, young people massacred while attending a musical festival to celebrate peace. Women raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies," he continued.

The President described the "Holocaust survivors abducted and held hostage. Hostages whom Hamas has now threatened to execute in violation of every code of human morality."

Biden stated that Hamas' brutality "brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS."

"Sadly for the Jewish people, it's not new. This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by a millennium of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people."

He declared: "In this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel, we stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself and respond to this attack."

"Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination," Biden said. "Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed, with no regard to who pays the price."

"Like every nation in the world, Israel has the right to respond, indeed, has a duty to respond, to these vicious attacks," the President declared. "I just got off the phone with my third call with Prime Minster Netanyahu, and I told him: if the United States experienced what Israel experienced, our response would be swift, decisive, and overwhelming."

He noted that the US has a special interest in the war against Hamas for the sake of its own citizens. "We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas. I'm directing my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise their Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts. Because as President, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world."

"Let me say again, any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t,” Biden said.