Biden backs Israel account of Gaza hospital strike, denounces Hamas

By Agencies

TEL AVIV: President Joe Biden opened his go to to Israel on Wednesday vowing to indicate the world that the U.S. stands in solidarity with the Jewish folks and providing an evaluation that the lethal explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital appeared to have been carried out “by the other team” and never the Israeli army.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throughout a gathering, referring to Hamas militants. But Biden stated there have been “a lot of people out there” who weren’t positive what induced the blast.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated an Israeli airstrike induced the destruction and a whole lot of deaths. The Israeli army denied involvement and blamed a misfired rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one other militant group. However, that group additionally rejected duty.

Biden had been scheduled to go to Jordan after the cease in Israel, however conferences there with Arab leaders have been referred to as off after the hospital explosion. He advised Netanyahu he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the explosion. But he additionally stated it was not hyperbole to say Hamas had “slaughtered” Israelis within the Oct. 7 assault.

“Americans are grieving, they really are,” Biden stated. “Americans are worried.”

Netanyahu thanked Biden for coming to Israel, telling him the go to was “deeply, deeply moving.”

“I know I speak for all the people of Israel when I say thank you Mr. President, thank you for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always.”

Netanyahu met Biden at Ben Gurion Airport and so they embraced earlier than rushing away for hours of conferences, the place the U.S. president is anticipated to push for permitting crucial humanitarian support to be delivered to Palestinians within the Gaza Strip.

Israel has been making ready for a possible floor invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ assaults on Oct. 7, which killed 1,400 Israelis.

ALSO READ | Gaza support caught in Egypt as Cairo blames Israel

John Kirby, a White House nationwide safety spokesperson, advised reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden “wants to get a sense from the Israelis on the situation on the ground” and can “ask some robust questions.”

“He’ll be asking them as a friend,” Kirby added.

The president additionally deliberate to fulfill Israeli first responders and the households of victims killed and hostages taken when Hamas made its incursion into Israel.

Roughly 2,800 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. Another 1,200 individuals are believed to be buried underneath the rubble, alive or lifeless, well being authorities stated.

Those numbers predate the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital on Tuesday. No clear trigger has been established for the blast.

Protests swept by the area after the blast on the hospital, which had been treating wounded Palestinians and sheltering many extra who have been searching for a refuge from the combating.

Hundreds of Palestinians flooded the streets of main West Bank cities together with Ramallah. More folks joined protests that erupted in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan, the place an indignant crowd gathered outdoors the Israeli Embassy.

Outrage scuttled Biden’s plans to go to Jordan, the place King Abdullah II had deliberate to host conferences with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. But Abbas withdrew in protest, and the summit was subsequently canceled outright.

Jordan declared three days of mourning after the hospital explosion. Kirby stated Biden understood the transfer was a part of a “mutual” determination to name off the Jordan portion of his journey. He stated Biden would communicate to the Arab leaders by telephone as he returned to Washington.

Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s overseas minister, advised a state-run tv community that the warfare is “pushing the area to the brink.”

There are additionally fears {that a} new entrance might erupt alongside Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the place Hezbollah operates. The Iran-backed group has been skirmishing with Israeli forces.

Always a believer within the energy of private diplomacy, Biden’s journey will take a look at the bounds of U.S. affect within the Middle East at a risky time. It’s his second journey to a battle zone this yr, after visiting Ukraine in February to indicate solidarity with the nation because it battles a Russian invasion.

#WATCH | Israel | In Tel Aviv, US President Joe Biden says, “…I was deeply sad by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. Based on what I have seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there are a lot of people out there, not sure…”… pic.twitter.com/ixrqpC5cm3

— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2023

The go to to Israel coincides with rising humanitarian issues in Gaza, the place Israel has lower off the circulate of meals, gas and water. Mediators have been struggling to interrupt a impasse over offering provides to determined civilians, support teams and hospitals.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, bouncing backwards and forwards between Arab and Israeli management forward of Biden’s go to, spent seven and a half hours assembly Monday in Tel Aviv in an effort to dealer some type of support settlement and emerged with a inexperienced gentle to develop a plan on how support can enter Gaza and be distributed to civilians.

Although solely a modest accomplishment on the floor, U.S. officers pressured that Blinken’s talks led to a big change in Israel’s place getting into — that Gaza would stay lower off from gas, electrical energy, water and different important provides.

U.S. officers stated it has grow to be clear that already restricted Arab tolerance of Israel’s army operations would evaporate completely if situations in Gaza worsened.

Their evaluation projected that outright condemnation of Israel by Arab leaders wouldn’t solely be a boon to Hamas however would probably encourage Iran to step up its anti-Israel exercise, including to fears {that a} regional conflagration may erupt, in response to 4 officers who spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity to debate inside administration pondering.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

TEL AVIV: President Joe Biden opened his go to to Israel on Wednesday vowing to indicate the world that the U.S. stands in solidarity with the Jewish folks and providing an evaluation that the lethal explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital appeared to have been carried out “by the other team” and never the Israeli army.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden advised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throughout a gathering, referring to Hamas militants. But Biden stated there have been “a lot of people out there” who weren’t positive what induced the blast.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry stated an Israeli airstrike induced the destruction and a whole lot of deaths. The Israeli army denied involvement and blamed a misfired rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, one other militant group. However, that group additionally rejected duty.googletag.cmd.push(operate() googletag.show(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); );

Biden had been scheduled to go to Jordan after the cease in Israel, however conferences there with Arab leaders have been referred to as off after the hospital explosion. He advised Netanyahu he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the explosion. But he additionally stated it was not hyperbole to say Hamas had “slaughtered” Israelis within the Oct. 7 assault.

“Americans are grieving, they really are,” Biden stated. “Americans are worried.”

Netanyahu thanked Biden for coming to Israel, telling him the go to was “deeply, deeply moving.”

“I know I speak for all the people of Israel when I say thank you Mr. President, thank you for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always.”

Netanyahu met Biden at Ben Gurion Airport and so they embraced earlier than rushing away for hours of conferences, the place the U.S. president is anticipated to push for permitting crucial humanitarian support to be delivered to Palestinians within the Gaza Strip.

Israel has been making ready for a possible floor invasion of Gaza in response to Hamas’ assaults on Oct. 7, which killed 1,400 Israelis.

ALSO READ | Gaza support caught in Egypt as Cairo blames Israel

John Kirby, a White House nationwide safety spokesperson, advised reporters aboard Air Force One that Biden “wants to get a sense from the Israelis on the situation on the ground” and can “ask some robust questions.”

“He’ll be asking them as a friend,” Kirby added.

The president additionally deliberate to fulfill Israeli first responders and the households of victims killed and hostages taken when Hamas made its incursion into Israel.

Roughly 2,800 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. Another 1,200 individuals are believed to be buried underneath the rubble, alive or lifeless, well being authorities stated.

Those numbers predate the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital on Tuesday. No clear trigger has been established for the blast.

Protests swept by the area after the blast on the hospital, which had been treating wounded Palestinians and sheltering many extra who have been searching for a refuge from the combating.

Hundreds of Palestinians flooded the streets of main West Bank cities together with Ramallah. More folks joined protests that erupted in Beirut, Lebanon and Amman, Jordan, the place an indignant crowd gathered outdoors the Israeli Embassy.

Outrage scuttled Biden’s plans to go to Jordan, the place King Abdullah II had deliberate to host conferences with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. But Abbas withdrew in protest, and the summit was subsequently canceled outright.

Jordan declared three days of mourning after the hospital explosion. Kirby stated Biden understood the transfer was a part of a “mutual” determination to name off the Jordan portion of his journey. He stated Biden would communicate to the Arab leaders by telephone as he returned to Washington.

Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s overseas minister, advised a state-run tv community that the warfare is “pushing the area to the brink.”

There are additionally fears {that a} new entrance might erupt alongside Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, the place Hezbollah operates. The Iran-backed group has been skirmishing with Israeli forces.

Always a believer within the energy of private diplomacy, Biden’s journey will take a look at the bounds of U.S. affect within the Middle East at a risky time. It’s his second journey to a battle zone this yr, after visiting Ukraine in February to indicate solidarity with the nation because it battles a Russian invasion.

#WATCH | Israel | In Tel Aviv, US President Joe Biden says, “…I was deeply sad by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. Based on what I have seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there are a lot of people out there, not sure…”… pic.twitter.com/ixrqpC5cm3
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2023
The go to to Israel coincides with rising humanitarian issues in Gaza, the place Israel has lower off the circulate of meals, gas and water. Mediators have been struggling to interrupt a impasse over offering provides to determined civilians, support teams and hospitals.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, bouncing backwards and forwards between Arab and Israeli management forward of Biden’s go to, spent seven and a half hours assembly Monday in Tel Aviv in an effort to dealer some type of support settlement and emerged with a inexperienced gentle to develop a plan on how support can enter Gaza and be distributed to civilians.

Although solely a modest accomplishment on the floor, U.S. officers pressured that Blinken’s talks led to a big change in Israel’s place getting into — that Gaza would stay lower off from gas, electrical energy, water and different important provides.

U.S. officers stated it has grow to be clear that already restricted Arab tolerance of Israel’s army operations would evaporate completely if situations in Gaza worsened.

Their evaluation projected that outright condemnation of Israel by Arab leaders wouldn’t solely be a boon to Hamas however would probably encourage Iran to step up its anti-Israel exercise, including to fears {that a} regional conflagration may erupt, in response to 4 officers who spoke to The Associated Press on situation of anonymity to debate inside administration pondering. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp