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Biden backs Israel's account of deadly Gaza hospital explosion Israel Gaza: Biden clinches deal with Egypt to allow aid
(about 5 hours later)
President Joe Biden was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin NetanyahuPresident Joe Biden was welcomed by Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu
US President Joe Biden has said a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital appears to have been caused by Palestinian militants, backing Israel's account of the incident as he visits the country. US President Joe Biden has secured a deal with Egypt to deliver limited aid to Gaza to ease a humanitarian crisis amid the Israel-Hamas war.
Mr Biden, who landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, said he was "deeply saddened and outraged" by the explosion. Visiting Tel Aviv, Mr Biden said Israel had a right to hit back for the Hamas attack that triggered the fighting.
Israel's military said it was caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch. The US president said Israel had been "badly victimised", though he cautioned against being "consumed" by rage.
But Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital. He also backed Israel's account that a blast at a Gaza hospital on Tuesday was not caused by an Israeli air strike. 
During his visit, Mr Biden also announced that Israel has agreed to let humanitarian aid from Egypt into Gaza. Palestinian officials say the explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli Arab Hospital killed 471 people, blaming it on Israel. The incident has further inflamed tensions across the region.
Access to food, water, fuel and power has been blocked by Israel since the conflict began, sparking deep humanitarian concerns.
Israel, the president said, agreed to let the aid in based on the understanding it would go to civilians and not Hamas.
Mr Biden also said $100m (£82m) in US funding would be be allocated to support Palestinian civilians.
Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel would not prevent food, water and medicine going from Egypt to the civilian population in southern Gaza.
However, it would not allow any aid to pass through its own territory until hostages being held by Hamas are released. Nearly 200 people have been abducted, Israel says.
Who are the hostages taken by Hamas from Israel?
Biden's visit to Israel is a high-stakes gamble
Mr Biden's high-stakes visit has been overshadowed by the blast at the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Tuesday evening, which has further inflamed tensions and sparked protests across the region.
Biden says he is "outraged and saddened" by the loss of lifeBiden says he is "outraged and saddened" by the loss of life
Biden says he is "outraged and saddened" by the loss of lifeBiden says he is "outraged and saddened" by the loss of life
Health officials in Gaza have said almost 500 people were killed in the explosion, which one doctor called "a massacre". But during a trip to Tel Aviv lasting fewer than eight hours on Wednesday, Mr Biden supported the Israeli claim that the deadly blast appeared to have been caused by a misfiring Palestinian rocket.
The US president landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday where he was greeted warmly by Mr Netanyahu, before the pair hosted a joint news conference. The American president said he was "deeply saddened and outraged" by the explosion.
"I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday," Mr Biden said. Israel says the blast was caused by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. Islamic Jihad denies that claim.
"Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you," he told Mr Netanyahu. "But there's a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things." The Palestinian-reported death toll has also been disputed by Israel. A foreign ministry spokesman, Lior Haiat, said on social media platform X that "several dozen people" had been "apparently killed".
Mr Biden was later asked by reporters what led him to conclude that Israel was not responsible, and said: "The data I was shown by my defence department." While flying home, Mr Biden discussed aid for Gaza with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi by phone.
A senior US official has told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that the US has its own intelligence - in addition to Israel's - that includes communications intercepts and satellite photos which gives it "high confidence" Israel was not behind the strike. Mr Biden told journalists that Mr Sisi had agreed to open the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza to allow about 20 lorries carrying humanitarian aid into the territory.
The official said there were "indications" that it was an errant rocket fired by a group in Gaza. Egypt confirmed its president and Mr Biden had agreed to provide aid to Gaza "in a sustainable manner".
In the news conference, Mr Biden reiterated his support for Israel and condemned the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza on 7 October that left 1,400 people dead. Mr Biden did not give a timeline for the border crossing opening, but White House spokesman John Kirby said it would occur in the coming days after road repairs.
But Mr Biden also sounded a warning to Israel not to be "consumed by rage" but to observe the "laws of war".
At least 3,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.
Mr Biden had planned to travel from Israel to Jordan to meet King Abdullah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, but that leg of the trip was cancelled after the hospital blast on Tuesday.
Watch: Chaos in Gaza City after hospital hitWatch: Chaos in Gaza City after hospital hit
Watch: Chaos in Gaza City after hospital hitWatch: Chaos in Gaza City after hospital hit
Jordan cancelled the meeting and condemned what it called "a great calamity and a heinous war crime". The White House, meanwhile, said the decision had been "made in a mutual way" and Mr Biden would call Mr Abbas and Mr Sisi on his return flight to the US. Mr Biden also said $100m (£82m) in US funding would be be allocated to support Palestinian civilians.
Hamas blamed Israel for the hospital blast, calling it a "war crime". A spokesperson for Mr Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank, accused Israel of a "heinous crime". A source familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency the US president was considering asking Congress for $10bn in aid for Israel as soon as Friday.
But the Israeli military said it had proof its forces were not behind the blast and that it was instead caused by rockets misfired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. People are desperately short of food, water, fuel, medicine and other essentials after Israel launched a blockade of the enclave 10 days ago.
Meanwhile, the US has announced sanctions on key Hamas members and operatives on Wednesday, in an effort to limit the revenue flow for the group. Israel struck back after the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,400 people in an unprecedented incursion from Gaza on 7 October.
At least 3,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. More than a million Palestinians have fled their homes within Gaza - about half of the population.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Israel would not prevent supplies going from Egypt to the civilian population in southern Gaza.
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However, Israel said it would not allow any aid to pass through its own territory until hostages being held by Hamas were released. Nearly 200 people have been abducted, Israel says.
Mr Biden will give a televised address to the nation from the White House on Thursday at 20:00 EDT (midnight GMT).
In his address, Mr Biden will "discuss our response to Hamas's terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia's ongoing brutal war against Ukraine", White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Also on Thursday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is due to visit Israel.
On the US president's high-stakes visit to Tel Aviv, he was warmly greeted by Mr Netanyahu, before the pair hosted a joint news conference.
Mr Biden likened the Hamas raid on Israel to the 9/11 attacks in the US.
"The scale may be different, but I'm sure those horrors have tapped into some kind of primal feeling in Israel, just like it did and felt in the United States," Mr Biden said. "But I caution this: while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it.
"After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."
Addressing the explosion at the hospital, Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu: "Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you."
Mr Biden was later asked by reporters what led him to conclude that Israel was not responsible, and said: "The data I was shown by my defence department."
A senior American official has told CBS, the BBC's US partner, that Washington has its own intelligence - in addition to Israel's - that includes communications intercepts and satellite photos, which give it "high confidence" Israel was not behind the strike.
The official said there were "indications" that it was an errant rocket fired by a group in Gaza.
Mr Biden had planned to travel from Israel to Jordan to meet King Abdullah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt's President Sisi, but that leg of the trip was called off after the hospital blast.
Jordan cancelled the meeting and condemned what it called "a great calamity and a heinous war crime". The White House said the decision to call of that part of the visit had been "made in a mutual way".
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