Republican lawmakers in US Congress, as well as leading presidential candidates, have piled on the Biden administration saying that Gaza’s military operation against Israel is tied to the Iran-US prisoner swap that granted Tehran access to $6bn in Iranian oil revenue.

Former President Donald Trump said that the hostage deal was a major reason for the attacks.

“The war happened for two reasons,” he said. “The United States is giving — and gave to Iran — $6 billion over hostages.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also running in the Republican primary, said the Biden administration’s foreign policy decisions were to blame for the Palestinian attack on Israel.

In August, the Biden administration agreed, in exchange for the release of five Americans held in Iran, to waive sanctions on the transfer of $6bn in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar.

In response to the statements from Republicans, a senior Biden administration official said: “I cannot think of a more irresponsible claim to make in such a situation about the hostage deal, and it’s also completely false.”

US: Republicans blame attacks on Israel on Biden prisoner swap with Iran