It was not clear whether Obama had coordinated his statement with US President Joe Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years.
During his presidency, Obama often backed Israel's right to self-defence at the start of conflicts with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, but quickly called for Israeli restraint once Palestinian casualties mounted from airstrikes.
Gaza, a 45km-long strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas, an Iran-backed Islamist group, but faces a blockade from Israel.
The Obama administration sought, but ultimately failed to broker, a peace deal in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Since taking office in early 2021, Biden has not tried to resume long-stalled talks, saying that leaders on both sides were too intransigent and the climate was not right.
Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a testy relationship when Obama was in office, including when Obama's administration was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.
Biden, as Obama's vice president, often acted as a mediator between the two men.
In his statement on Monday, Obama acknowledged that the US had itself "fallen short of our higher values when engaged in war", especially after the Sep 11, 2001 attacks.
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2023-10-24 00:42:15Z
CBMiXmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvb2JhbWEtaXNyYWVsLWJhY2tmaXJlLWdhemEtaGFtYXMtd2FyLXBhbGVzdGluaWFuLTM4Njc4NDHSAQA
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