United States President Joe Biden condemned rival presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday for describing Hezbollah as "very smart" during a campaign rally in Florida.

Hezbollah is a militant group and political party in Lebanon that supports Palestinians and Gaza ruler Hamas which attacked Israel last week killing 1,200 people.

"You know, Hezbollah is very smart. They're all very smart,'" Trump told supporters in West Palm Beach as he was blaming the White House for the attack on the US ally Israel.

Trump also falsely accused the Biden administration of bankrolling the Hamas assault as a result of a prisoner exchange deal with Iran, which has historically funded Hamas and Hezbollah.

Biden said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that "our nation's support for Israel is resolute and unwavering. And the right time to praise the terrorists who seek to destroy them is never."

Reacting to Trump's remark, Israel's Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a TV interview that Trump could "obviously" not be trusted.

"It is shameful that such a person, a former president of the United States, aid propaganda and spreads comments that harm the spirit of IDF (army) fighters and the spirit of Israeli residents," Karhi said.

Hamas gunmen also took about 150 hostages in their surprise onslaught from Gaza Saturday. Israel has retaliated by raining air and artillery strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza for six days, claiming over 1,350 lives.