TEL AVIV Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked visiting U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday for his "unequivocal support" in the Gaza war and gave an updated death toll from the Hamas cross-border attack that triggered it.

"On October 7, Hamas murdered 1,400 Israelis, maybe more," Netanyahu told Biden in televised remarks. He called on countries to rally behind Israel as it wages what he described as a war "between the forces of civilisation and the forces of barbarism".

(Writing by Dan Williams)