Harvard president addresses backlash following student groups' statement blaming Israel for violence

Harvard president Claudine Gay released a video Thursday evening as the university reels from backlash following a pro-Palestinian statement signed by dozens of student groups holding Israel "entirely responsible" for Hamas' terrorist attacks on the country and the subsequent violence unfolding in the region.

Gay's video, which was titled "Our Choices," began with her describing the Israel-Hamas war as a "moment of intense pain and grief for a great many people in our community and around the world," to which she added that she is experiencing the same feelings.

She continued by saying members of the Harvard community have a choice to either "fan the flames of division and hatred" or to "try to be a force for something different and better."