President Joe Biden on Tuesday appeared to make a plea for Israel to stop fighting in Gaza, saying that continued war plays into the hands of Hamas.

The current president believes his close embrace of Israel, which he called for as vice president, gives him greater influence with Israeli leaders and the public.

President Joe Biden is facing criticism for a vague post on X about the Israel-Hamas war. On Tuesday evening, Biden wrote, “Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.

President Biden suggested that Israel’s response to the brutal Oct. 7 attack unleashed by Hamas is giving the group what it wants, arguing that the country can’t continue with this level of violence.