U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday, expressing solidarity in its fight against Hamas and supporting its claim that a blast at a Gaza hospital was caused by militants. The explosion at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital, which resulted in a high number of Palestinian casualties, disrupted Biden’s emergency diplomatic mission to the Middle East and led to the cancellation of a planned summit with Arab leaders. Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli airstrike for the blast, while Israel attributed it to a failed rocket launch by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group. Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden expressed his sadness and outrage over the incident and stated that it appeared to be the work of the opposing team. However, he acknowledged that there were doubts and emphasized the importance of the world’s observation of Israel’s actions.
Biden’s trip to the Middle East aimed to bring calm to the region while demonstrating U.S. support for Israel. However, following the hospital blast, Jordan canceled the second part of Biden’s itinerary, which included a summit with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority. Netanyahu thanked Biden for his unwavering support, and President Isaac Herzog expressed gratitude for protecting Israel.
The scenes of destruction at the hospital were particularly distressing, even amidst the continuous images of violence over the past 12 days. Rescue workers searched through the debris for survivors, and conflicting reports emerged regarding the death toll. Dr. Fadel Naim, Head of the hospital’s Orthopedic Surgery Department, described the chaos and the hospital’s inability to save many lives. Israel released drone footage and audio recordings to refute responsibility for the explosion, but Palestinians remained convinced that it was an Israeli attack.
After Biden supported Israel’s account of the incident, other Western leaders called for caution and emphasized the need for accurate reporting based on facts. The blast further fueled anger across the Middle East, and protests erupted in the West Bank city of Ramallah. The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for Lebanon due to clashes between Hezbollah and Israel. Biden faced pressure to address the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, where millions of Palestinians are suffering from a lack of basic necessities.
The Israeli military announced the establishment of a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi to provide aid to the Gaza Strip, but the logistics of delivering the aid were not specified. The article concludes with the reporting and editing credits, as well as a brief description of the senior correspondent’s experience covering the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
