Obama addresses root causes of war, including Palestinian displacement since 1948

Former US President Barack Obama has weighed in on Israel's war on Gaza, publishing a statement on Monday in which he supported Israel's "right to defend itself", while also warning Israel and the US against ignoring the plight of Palestinians.

"Even as we support Israel, we should also be clear that how Israel prosecutes this fight against Hamas matters," Obama said.

The former president said that navigating the current conflict means "guarding against dehumanising language towards the people of Gaza, or downplaying Palestinian suffering - whether in Gaza or the West Bank - as irrelevant or illegitimate".

Obama also addressed some of the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the continued displacement of Palestinians since the creation of Israel in 1948.

"It means acknowledging that Palestinians have also lived in disputed territories for generations; that many of them were not only displaced when Israel was formed but continue to be forcibly displaced by a settler movement that too often has received tacit or explicit support from the Israeli government," Obama said.

Read more: Barack Obama warns against downplaying Palestinian suffering