President William Ruto and the African Union Commission chairman Moussa Faki have differed over the ongoing Israel and Palestine conflict.
In a statement calling for a ceasefire, President Ruto said Kenya would stand with Israel.
"Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country," he said.
Ruto urged the international community to mobilise to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, sponsors, supporters and enablers of these reprehensible criminal acts of terrorism to account and speedily bring them to justice.
He also noted that Kenya is profoundly disturbed that civilians continue to be intentionally targeted in this conflict, as a consequence of which the number of casualties continues to rise.
The AU boss in his statement, however, said the war was because of the denial of fundamental rights of the Palestinian people.
His remarks have been interpreted as the AU backing Palestine.
"The chairperson wishes to recall that denial of the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people, particularly that of an independent and sovereign State, is the main cause of the permanent Israeli-Palestinian tension," the statement said
He appealed for an end to the conflict between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
He called on both parties "to return, without preconditions, to the negotiating table to implement the principle of two States living side by side".
On Saturday, Palestinian militant groups from the Gaza Strip launched a large-scale armed offensive against Israel, breaking through the Gaza–Israel barrier and forcing entry into Gaza border crossings, nearby Israeli cities, adjacent military installations, and civilian settlements.
Israeli Forces retaliated with attacks that have seen the death toll rise to over 1,100.
The fighting is still ongoing.
Previous conflicts between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers brought widespread death and destruction in Gaza and days of rocket fire on Israeli towns.
