US diplomacy on Monday described as “unacceptable” the statement of an Israeli minister about dropping an atomic bomb on the Gaza Strip and called on all warring parties to refrain from using “hate speech”.

“Prime Minister (of Israel Benjamin) Netanyahu and the Israeli government repudiated these statements, which we too find completely unacceptable,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told accredited reporters.

“We continue to believe that it is important that all parties to this conflict refrain from hate speech that would escalate tensions further,” he added.

The Netanyahu government announced the day before Sunday that the participation of far-right minister Amichai Eligiahu in “every government meeting” is suspended until further notice.

During an interview with the Kol BaRama radio station, the minister replied that “this is an option” when asked by a reporter if he would consider dropping a “nuclear bomb” on the Gaza Strip to “kill everyone.”

The statement sparked outrage in the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia – which, before the Israel/Hamas war broke out, held preliminary talks over recognizing the Jewish state – and criticism of Mr Netanyahu for not expelling the minister.

Since October 7, according to Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mostly civilians in the day of the unprecedented attack on areas of Israeli territory launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement.

According to the latest death toll released by the Hamas Health Ministry on Monday, at least 10,022 people, mostly civilians, including more than 4,000 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the Israeli army’s devastating aerial bombardment since, the sea and the land.