President Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday, where he held a brief press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In their remarks, both leaders highlighted the death toll, the atrocities committed by Hamas, and the impact on children in Israel.
Biden also said Israel was not to blame for a rocket attack on a hospital in Gaza, which left at least 500 people dead.
“I was outraged by the bombing of the hospital yesterday. Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by the other team. Not you,” Biden said to Netanyahu. “But there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure.”
US President Joe Biden (L) meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 as Middle East anger flared after hundreds were killed when a rocket struck a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians quick to trade blame. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Biden added: “The world is looking. Israel has a value set like the United States does and other democracies and they’re looking to see what we’re going to do.”
Netanyahu spoke first during the presser, applauding Biden for being the first U.S. president to visit Israel during a wartime.
A huge banner welcomes US President Joe Biden who arrived on a solidarity visit following Hamas’ attacks that have led to major Israeli reprisals, in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)
He also urged the president to imagine what the Israeli children were imagining when Hamas fighters broke into their homes and found their hiding spots.
“It’s beyond my comprehension,” Biden said during his remarks. He also said Hamas was guilty of slaughtering Israelis: “They’ve committed evils that atrocities that make ISIS somewhat more rational.”
The two left the conference without answering any questions. Biden will meet privately with the Israeli leaders.
The president’s comments about the hospital came after a Hamas-run hospital that was treating wounded Palestinians and sheltering many others in the Gaza Strip was hit and exploded Tuesday, killing hundreds of people.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, greets US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 500 people were killed at al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City with many people still stuck under the rubble.
The cause of the explosion is disputed by Hamas, who said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who blamed the strike on the Islamic Jihad.
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It caused an international summit with Biden, Jordan’s Abdullah, Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to be canceled. It was initially set for Wednesday.
The international community has pressed for additional information on what caused the explosion as attacks on hospitals, schools and other civilian targets are widely criticized.
When asked earlier in the day, the IDF said it was investigating the source of the explosion, noting that the hospital is a “highly sensitive building” and is “not an IDF target.”
