President Biden has landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he’s set to meet with the nation’s leadership Wednesday in a show of support amid Israel’s war with Hamas. A second diplomatic stop, to meet with Arab leaders in Jordan, was canceled following Tuesday’s deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza City that offiicals said killed at least 500 people.
The Biden administration intended the visit to display the United States’ commitment to Israel while navigating and steadying sky-high tensions in the region. But the horrific news of the blast at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City and furious accusations of who was to blame dominated headlines ahead of his arrival.
Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast, but a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said Israel “did not strike that hospital” and that its analysis indicates a rocket fired by Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza fell short and hit the hospital. What exactly happened has not been independently verified.
Word of the explosion sparked angry demonstrations in many Arab nations and the West Bank.
EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS
Mr. Biden’s visit follows a grueling 10-stop, five-day trip to the Middle East by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met for seven hours Monday with Israel’s wartime cabinet “to try to work on a framework” for getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza, the National Security Council’s John Kirby told CBS News.
“Hopefully soon, there will be some humanitarian assistance — food, water, medicine — getting into the folks that live in Gaza, as well as trying to make some arrangements for folks who want to get out,” Kirby said.
Relentless Israeli airstrikes and a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, imposed by Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, have driven roughly half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents from their homes and created a humanitarian crisis as food, fuel and water all run desperately short.
As many as 600 U.S. nationals are thought to be among the hundreds of thousands of people trapped in Gaza.
Palestinian officials said Tuesday that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has killed about 3,000 people and wounded around 12,500 others, a majority of them women and children.
In Israel, officials say Hamas’ terror attack and ongoing rocket fire have killed some 1,400 people and wounded 3,500 others. Hamas is said to be holding almost 200 hostages.
Thirteen U.S. nationals remain unaccounted and 31 U.S. citizens have been confirmed killed. As many as 600 U.S. nationals are thought to be among the hundreds of thousands of people trapped in Gaza.
