Biden ‘outraged’ by Gaza hospital explosion, says US still gathering info
President Joe Biden speaks Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, about the war between Israel and the militant Palestinian group Hamas.
President Biden spoke with the leaders of Jordan and Israel in the aftermath of a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza just hours before he was set to travel to Israel.
“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted,” Biden said in a statement released shortly after he took off on Air Force One.
“Immediately upon hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] of Israel and have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened,” Biden added. “The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy.”
Protests erupted in the Middle East earlier Tuesday after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, with authorities estimating hundreds of deaths, including patients who were seeking treatment amid heavy aerial bombardment by Israel over the last week.
Hamas and some Arab nations blamed the explosion on an Israeli airstrike, while the Israel Defense Forces said it was caused by a wayward rocket fired by a Palestinian militant group.
Biden was scheduled to arrive Wednesday in Israel to show his support for the Jewish state in the aftermath of terrorist attacks by Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, that left more than 1,000 Israelis dead.
He was originally expected to then travel to Jordan for meetings with leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. That portion of the trip was scrapped in the aftermath of the hospital explosion, however.