The ministry in Gaza, ruled by Hamas, holds Israel responsible for the hospital blast, but the Israeli army says a misguided missile launched by the Palestinian militant organisation Islamic Jihad is to blame.
US President Joe Biden opened his visit to Israel on Wednesday vowing to show the world that the US stands in solidarity with the Jewish people and offering an assessment that the deadly explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital appeared to have been carried out “by the other team” and not the Israeli military, adding Hamas had brought “only suffering.”
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting, referring to Hamas militants. But Biden said there were “a lot of people out there” who weren’t sure what caused the blast.
Biden did not offer details on why he believed the blast was not caused by the Israelis.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli air strike caused the destruction and hundreds of deaths. The Israeli military denied involvement and blamed a misfired rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group. However, that organisation also rejected responsibility.
Biden had been scheduled to visit Jordan after the stop in Israel, but meetings there with Arab leaders were called off after the hospital explosion. He told Netanyahu he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the explosion. But he also said it was not hyperbole to say Hamas had “slaughtered” Israelis in the October 7 attack.
“Americans are grieving, they really are,” Biden said. “Americans are worried.”
Netanyahu thanked Biden for coming to Israel, telling him the visit 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 they embraced before speeding away for hours of meetings, where the US president is expected to push for allowing critical humanitarian aid to be delivered to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
