Tel Aviv, 18 October 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the West to join forces in defeating Hamas after the massacre by the Palestinian extremist organization on October 7 had shown the group's "sheer evil."

Meeting with US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Netanyahu said "the civilized world must unite to defeat Hamas," comparing the militant organization which rules the Gaza Strip to the Nazis and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist network.

Hamas has committed the worst crimes in Israel, Netanyahu said. Women have been raped, soldiers beheaded and children murdered, he added.

"Just imagine, Mr. President, the fear and the panic of those little children in their last moments as the monsters discovered, found out their secret hiding places," the premier told Biden.

"We will defeat Hamas and remove this terrible threat from our lives," Netanyahu said. Biden was the first US president in history to come to Israel in wartime, he added saying this was "deeply, deeply moving."

"Thank you for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always."