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Biden arrives in Israel after Arab leaders summit cancelled Biden backs Israel's account of deadly Gaza hospital blast
(about 1 hour 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 arrived in Israel to express his solidarity and discuss war plans with its leaders. 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.
He landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and was greeted warmly by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Biden, who landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, said he was "deeply saddened and outraged" by the explosion.
But the high-stakes visit has been overshadowed by a blast at a crowded Gaza hospital in which hundreds are feared to have died. Israel's military said it was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket.
The blast, which Palestinian and Israeli officials have blamed on each other, has further stoked tensions. But Palestinian officials said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital.
In a statement issued from Air Force One, Mr Biden said the US mourned "the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy" but he did not attribute blame. The BBC is working to independently verify the death toll, which is feared to be in the hundreds, as well as the cause of the explosion.
Mr Biden had planned to travel from Israel to Jordan to meet Arab leaders, but that leg of the trip was cancelled after the deaths in Gaza on Tuesday inflamed tensions and sparked protests. Mr Biden's high-stakes visit has been overshadowed by the blast at Gaza's Al-Ahli Arab Hospital on Tuesday evening, which further inflamed tensions and sparked protests across the region.
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 the leaders of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt on his return flight to the US. He landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday where he was greeted warmly by Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, before the pair hosted a joint news conference.
"I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday," Mr Biden said.
"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 US president 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 1,300 people dead.
At least 3,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.
ANALYSIS: Biden's visit to Israel is a high-stakes gambleANALYSIS: Biden's visit to Israel is a high-stakes gamble
Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu held a joint news conference shortly after he arrived, and the US president is expected to meet the Israeli war cabinet later on Wednesday. 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.
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.
The US president is expected to meet the Israeli war cabinet later on Wednesday.
He will ask "tough questions" to better understand Israel's war aims and objectives in Gaza, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.He will ask "tough questions" to better understand Israel's war aims and objectives in Gaza, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
"He'll be asking some tough questions but he'll be asking them as a friend," Mr Kirby told reporters, adding that the US would stress the need for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and the obligation to avoid civilian casualties."He'll be asking some tough questions but he'll be asking them as a friend," Mr Kirby told reporters, adding that the US would stress the need for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and the obligation to avoid civilian casualties.
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Mr Biden will also meet emergency workers who responded to the unprecedented attack by the Hamas Palestinian militant group which left 1,300 Israelis dead on 7 October. Hamas gunmen breached the border and infiltrated Israeli communities close to Gaza. Mr Biden will also meet emergency workers who responded to the Hamas attack as well as some of those who lost loved ones or whose family members are being held hostage, officials said.
He will also meet some of those who lost loved ones or whose family members are being held hostage, officials said.
At least 3,000 people have been killed in retaliatory Israeli strikes on Gaza, according to health officials.
Israel has asked the US for $10bn (£8.2bn) in emergency military aid following the attack, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported, quoting what it called sources familiar with the request.Israel has asked the US for $10bn (£8.2bn) in emergency military aid following the attack, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported, quoting what it called sources familiar with the request.
Authorities in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, say 500 people died in the hospital explosion, which one doctor called "a massacre".
Hamas blamed Israel, calling it a "war crime". A spokesperson for Mr Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank, accused Israel of a "heinous crime".
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.
"According to our intelligence, Hamas checked the reports, understood it was an Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired - and decided to launch a global media campaign to hide what really happened," spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a briefing on Tuesday. "They went as far as inflating the number of casualties."
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
The Hamas-led authorities in Gaza say 500 people died in the explosion at the Al Ahli hospital on Tuesday, which one doctor called "a massacre".
Hamas blamed Israel, calling it a "war crime". A spokesperson for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the occupied West Bank, accused Israel of a "heinous crime".
But Israel said the blast was caused by rockets misfired by another group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
"Our intelligence is reporting to us that apparently there was a rocket launched by Islamic Jihad," Mark Regev, a spokesman for Mr Netanyahu, told the BBC.
"And that their rocket was fired into Israel but dropped short and landed on the hospital, causing the destruction it did."
The BBC is working to verify what caused the blast.
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