Washington DC - President Joe Biden voiced criticism of Israel Tuesday following a strike that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, saying it has not done enough to protect such workers.

"Incidents like yesterday's simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians," Biden said in a statement.

Biden said he was "outraged and heartbroken" by this week's killing of the World Central Kitchen workers, adding that distributing aid in the Palestinian territory has been difficult "because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians."

In his statement, Biden said Israel's investigation of the strike "must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public."

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Biden and other US officials have expressed growing frustration with Israel as it continues its unrelenting assault on the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 32,900 Palestinians and left millions vulnerable to famine and starvation.

Nevertheless, the administration continues to provide military and diplomatic support to Israel, which has illegally occupied Palestine for decades.

The seven staffers from the US-based food aid charity were killed when a strike hit their convoy in the Gazan town of Deir al-Balah.

Biden said the death of the aid workers was not a "stand alone incident." The United Nations reports the siege has left almost 200 aid workers dead.

"This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed," Biden said in his statement.

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The president said the United States will keep pressing Israel to let more aid into Gaza and to allow "an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal."

But Biden is facing mounting criticism for continuing to send lethal weapons to Israel, something his administration continues to do despite growing evidence Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Israel's army, meanwhile, acknowledged on Wednesday it had committed a "grave mistake."

Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, in a message posted on social media platform X, blamed "a misidentification – at night during a war in very complex conditions."