Biden in Israel, says 'other side' attacked Gaza hospital

The attack that engulfed the Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital on October 17 killed at least 500 people and derailed Biden’s Middle East plans. The US president had an urgent diplomatic agenda to resolve the conflict in the Gaza Strip, but Arab leaders decided to cancel the summit.

Al-Ahli Arabi Baptist Hospital was attacked on October 17. (Video source: Independent)

"I am deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip yesterday. Based on what I saw, it appears that another group carried out the attack, not yours," US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to Tel Aviv on October 18.

The US President added that many people are still uncertain about what happened, so a lot needs to be clarified.

Earlier, Hamas accused the Israeli army of "attacking the courtyard of Al-Ahli Hospital" and called it a "war crime". Israel denied the accusation and said that a rocket from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) organization had an accident after being launched and fell into the hospital courtyard, causing the tragedy.

“The whole world is rightly outraged,” Mr Netanyahu said, “but this outrage should not be directed at Israel but at the terrorists.”

The US President criticized the Hamas militant group in the Gaza Strip, saying the group does not represent all Palestinians and only brings suffering to civilians.

US President Joe Biden (left) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on October 18. (Photo: Reuters)

Regarding his visit to Israel, Biden said he was proud to be here. "I want to tell the people of Israel that the courage, the bravery and the commitment of the people is incredible," he said.

"We will continue to support you. As you work to protect your people, we will continue to work with you and our partners in the region to prevent further tragedy for innocent civilians," Biden said.

Prime Minister Netanyahu praised Mr. Biden as the first US president to visit Israel in wartime and for standing with Israel. He called for global unity against Hamas. He also pledged that Israel would unite to defeat Hamas and eliminate the group.

“Israel will do everything possible to keep civilians from being harmed,” Netanyahu said. “We have asked and continue to ask civilians to evacuate to safer areas. We will continue to work with the president to ensure that the requests are met,” Netanyahu told Biden.

Mi Vi (Source: Reuters)

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