Controversial comedian Joan Rivers has come under fire after a video surfaced online in which she says the victims of the Gaza conflict in Palestine "deserve to be dead".
In the video, Rivers is asked her opinion on the death of nearly 2,000 Palestinians so far as a result of the conflict to which she responds, "tell that to Hiroshima".
From that point Rivers continues to go on an aggressive rant about the brutality and "stupidity" of war before stating: "You started it. You’re dead, you deserve to be dead" and "At least the ones that were killed were the ones with low IQs".
Rivers quickly took to her Facebook page to defend her comments, claiming she stands by what she said but it was "completely taken out of context".
Her statement reads: "I am both saddened and disappointed that my statement about the tragedy of civilian casualties was totally taken out of context. What I said and stand behind is, war is hell and unfortunately civilians are victims of political conflicts.
"Along with every other sane person in this world, I am praying for peace. It is stupid and wrong and I am tired of bearing the brunt of attacks by people who want to sell newspapers or gain ratings by creating a scandal about me that is non-existent," she said.
The Gaza conflict has cost the lives of 1,886 Palestinians including more than 400 children according to the latest UN figures.