US President Joe Biden said yesterday, Wednesday, that he “has no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using” for casualties in the Gaza Strip, where the Ministry of Health has announced that more than 6,500 people have been killed by Israeli attacks.

Biden was asked during a White House press conference whether he believes the Palestinian death toll, which includes about 2,700 children, means Israel is ignoring U.S. calls to limit civilian deaths.

“I have no sense that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people have been killed. I am sure that innocent people have been killed and this is the price of war” replied the American president.

“The Israelis should be extremely careful, make sure they focus on going after the people who are waging this war against Israel. And it’s against their interests when that doesn’t happen,” he added.

“But I don’t trust the number the Palestinians are using,” Biden said, without specifying why.

For their part, the Palestinians reject the idea that the death toll in Gaza is not accurate.

In the US, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said it was “deeply disturbed” by Biden’s comments on the Gaza reckoning and called on him to apologize.

“Journalists have confirmed the high death toll and countless videos coming out of Gaza daily show the mutilated bodies of Palestinian women and children,” CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

During yesterday’s press conference, Biden accused Hamas of “hiding behind Palestinian civilians” in the densely populated enclave, causing “an additional burden on Israel as it goes after Hamas.”

Biden added: “Israel must do everything it can, no matter how hard it is, to protect innocent civilians.”