US President Joe Biden made an audacious visit to Israel on Wednesday, putting himself at the centre of an ever bloodier conflict as Israelis and Palestinians traded blame for a deadly explosion that ripped through a hospital in Gaza.
The Gazan health ministry, which is overseen by Hamas, said the blast killed hundreds, and scenes of bloodied and charred bodies ignited angry protests across West Asia.
Biden quickly waded into the fray, backing the Israeli government’s denial of responsibility for the explosion at Ahli Arab Hospital, where many civilians were sheltering amid Israel’s daily bombardment of Gaza. “Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” he said during an appearance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
Palestinian officials blamed an Israeli airstrike, an assertion that was forcefully disputed by the Israel Defence Forces, which blamed an errant rocket fired by an armed Palestinian faction. Neither side’s account could be independently verified, and the cause of the blast remained unclear.
The carnage at the hospital, though, was plain for the world to see as witnesses posted videos of its aftermath to social media. The videos showed screaming children in bloodied clothing, women wailing in pain and men kneeling in prayer. In one, a young child covered in dust lifts his shirt to reveal a wound to his chest. In others, bodies lay exposed, and people moved past them in search of loved ones.
The US President said on Wednesday that he had urged Israel to allow some humanitarian aid into Gaza as long as it did not go to the Hamas group, and Israel said it would not block deliveries from Egypt, offering the first sign of relief to civilians in the blockaded enclave besieged by days of deadly Israeli airstrikes.
Biden made the announcement during a forceful speech in Tel Aviv in which he said the US stood firmly with Israel in its fight against Hamas and argued that Hamas did not represent the Palestinian people.
New York Times News Service
