Biden speaks from Israel after Gaza hospital blast kills hundreds: Live updates
President Biden is visiting Israel on Wednesday in the wake of a strike on a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead.
Palestinian and Israeli officials are exchanging blame for the attack, which has already impacted Biden’s trip, with Jordan calling off a four-way summit with Biden and regional leaders.
Biden is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, as he seeks to reaffirm U.S. support while also avoiding a wider war in the region.
Israel’s military is expected to launch a ground invasion into Gaza in the days ahead, aiming to take out the Hamas militant group after its bloody assault on Israel earlier this month. Iran has repeatedly warned this week of an escalation if Israel’s attacks on Palestinians continue.
Follow live updates below.
President Biden has departed Israel for a refueling stop in Germany before returning to the United States.
Biden spent roughly seven hours in Israel meeting with government officials and community members before delivering remarks.
— Brett Samuels
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told colleagues Wednesday morning that newly released signal intelligence indicates that groups within Gaza were responsible for the devastating explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians at the Al Ahli Arab hospital.
“As the president indicated — people should look at this — released signal intelligence confirms it appears that terrorist fighters within Gaza were responsible for the explosion and deaths, not the Israeli IDF,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“It is clear that terrorists in Gaza have no regard for civilian human life. As I have said and as the Biden administration has made clear, civilian life must be protected,” he added.
Palestinian militant group Hamas said the U.S. is complicit in the “massacres” of the Gaza people after adopting Israeli’s narrative “based on lies and false claims.”
Hamas is apparently referencing the deadly explosion of a Gaza hospital building this week.
President Biden, along with U.S. and Israeli officials, have said there is evidence a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket caused the explosion.
— Brad Dress
The Lebanese military group Hezbollah and Israeli forces are exchanging intense fire at the Lebanon-Israel border, a day after five Hezbollah fighters were killed.
Hezbollah claimed to have struck outposts in northern Israel on Wednesday with guided missile rockets, according to Lebanese media outlets.
Israeli forces said that troops “destroyed two military outposts in Lebanese territory” and were continuing “to strike terror targets.”
Hezbollah said on Tuesday that five of its fighters were killed, but it’s not clear how they may have died.
— Brad Dress
Global humanitarian group Oxfam on Wednesday warned that Gaza risks becoming a “breeding ground” for cholera and other diseases due to a lack of water and basic sanitation.
“There is no power, no food and now no water in Gaza. It risks becoming a breeding ground for cholera and other diseases. The situation for civilians is already intolerable. Our staff are telling us that in some cases, there are up to 70 people crammed into a single room. Humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza now,” said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International’s interim executive director, in a statement.
President Biden said Wednesday that U.S. intelligence confirms Israel’s claims that groups within Gaza were responsible for a hospital blast that killed hundreds on Tuesday.
“Based on the information we’ve seen to date, it appears as a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza,” he told reporters after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking with Netanyahu earlier in the day, Biden said of the hospital explosion, “it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”
Biden announced an agreement to allow humanitarian aid to move from Egypt to Gaza and confirmed $100 billion in U.S. funding for assistance to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Biden, in remarks delivered in Tel Aviv, said he asked the Israeli Cabinet during a meeting to agree to the delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza “based on understanding that there will be inspections and aid should go to civilians, not to Hamas.”
— Brett Samuels
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have released audio and video to make the case that the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was behind the Tuesday hospital explosion that killed almost 500 people.
One video released by the IDF appears to show the site of a failed rocket launch that may have caused the explosion at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
The IDF also released audio of two Hamas militants allegedly discussing how a misfired rocket launch from Islamic Jihad caused the hospital explosion.
— Brad Dress
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 471 people died in the al-Ahli Arab hospital explosion.
Another 314 people are injured, including 28 in critical condition, authorities said.
It’s not clear what caused the explosion of the hospital, located in Gaza where Israel is waging a war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
Palestinian health officials said 3,487 people have been killed in the war so far and more than 12,000 are injured.
— Brad Dress
Biden said in prepared remarks he plans to ask Congress for “an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense” later this week.
The package is expected to also include funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia, as well as some domestic priorities like border security.
– Brett Samuels
President Biden delivered remarks in Tel Aviv after meeting with Israeli community members and survivors of the Hamas terrorist attacks.
“I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone,” Biden said.
The president condemned the brutality of the Hamas attacks, describing the killing of children and of families ripped apart. He said he was working with allies in the region to free hostages taken by Hamas.
– Brett Samuels
The Biden administration announced new sanctions on Hamas on Wednesday targeting the militant group’s vast financial network as the U.S. backs Israel’s war against the militant organization in Gaza.
The sanctions target 10 members of Hamas as well as a Qatar-based financial facilitator with ties to Iran, a top Hamas commander and a cryptocurrency exchange based in Gaza.
Read the full story
President Biden is delivering comments in Tel Aviv on Wednesday after meetings with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, as much of the U.S. fears a wider war in the Middle East.
Watch the live video here.
Protests erupted outside the United States Embassy in Beirut Tuesday night after a deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza Strip.
Reuters reported that hundreds of Lebanese protesters gathered outside the embassy, some waving Palestinian flags. Police reportedly used tear gas on demonstrators.
The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday issued a warning about future protests, advising citizens to “avoid demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings or protests as some of these have turned violent.”
Seven progressive House Democrats are calling on President Biden to push for a ceasefire during his visit to Israel on Wednesday in an effort to protect civilians, a day after hundreds were killed in an explosion in a Gaza hospital.
The Democrats aid they support Israel in the conflict but want at least a temporary ceasefire in order to assist Palestinian civilians under siege in the 140-square mile territory.
Read the full story here.
– Nick Robertson