Biden: Gaza hospital blast done by the 'other team'

The United States backed Israel's assertion that a failed Palestinian Islamic Jihad missile launch was responsible for the explosion at the Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds late Wednesday night.

“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion in Gaza yesterday,” Biden said during a one-day solidarity visit to Israel. Gaza health officials have claimed that at least 471 people died in the explosion.

Biden explained that he understood that the IDF had not fired a missile at the hospital.

“Based on what I have seen it appears that it was done by the other team, not you,” the president said.

He later told reporters that he based his assessment of the hospital explosion on information given to him by the State Department.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that prior to Biden’s departure for Israel on Tuesday he had provided him with information on the attack.

“I presented him with concrete proof that it was Islamic Jihad, and not the IDF, that had fired the missile that struck the hospital in Gaza. I directed our National Public Diplomacy Directorate and the IDF to disseminate this proof,” Netanyahu said.

Arab countries and many in the international community blamed Israel for the explosion.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was appalled by the attack but did not accuse either side.

“I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza… which I strongly condemn," he wrote in a post on X.

“My heart is with the families of the victims. Hospitals and medical personnel are protected under international humanitarian law.” 

Global responses varied

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly, who made a solidarity trip to Israel last week, said that, “the destruction of Al Ahli Hospital is a devastating loss of human life. The UK has been clear. The protection of civilian life must come first. 

“The UK will work with our allies to find out what has happened and protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” Cleverly said. "I have travelled to Israel, I've engaged with G7 allies and regional partners, and will be visiting the region again later on today, because we recognize that this will require intensive efforts," he said.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak cautioned: "We should not rush to judgments before we have all the facts.”

He added, “Our intelligence services have been rapidly analyzing the evidence to independently establish the facts. We are not in a position at this point to say more than that.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who visited Israel on Tuesday and is now in Egypt said, “I am horrified by the images of the explosion in a hospital in Gaza. Innocent civilians were injured and killed. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the attack, stating that his country’s thoughts were with the victims. “All the light must be shed on the circumstances," the French president said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accused Israel of targeting the Al-Ahli hospital, calling the attack a "hideous war massacre" that cannot be tolerated, adding that any talks about anything else rather than stopping the war is unacceptable.

"Israel has crossed all red lines. ... We will not leave nor allow anyone to expel us from there," he added.

In the aftermath of the hospital explosion, Abbas pulled out of a quadrilateral summit planned in Amman on Wednesday, with Biden, King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Jordan subsequently canceled the summit. Biden is expected instead to speak with Sisi and Abbas by phone on his way back to the US.

The attack occurred in the midst of a Gaza War that began on October 7th and exacerbated already volatile anti-Israel emotions among Palestinian supporters.

President Tayyip Erdogan called the blast "the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values."

Turkey's presidential communications office quickly branded Israel's claim "#FakeNews" on social media platform X.

Overnight Turks marched with Palestinian flags and chanted slogans denouncing Israel in at least a dozen Turkish cities, including outside the Israeli embassy in the capital Ankara.

Police used pepper spray and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters who tried to enter the compound of Israel's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city. Five people were detained, the Istanbul governor's office said.

Israel's National Security Council (NSC) issued a warning against travel to Turkey, citing fears that Israelis would be targeted by those angry at the war. It also urged Israeli citizens in Turkey to leave as soon as possible.

Following the NSC's appeal, Israeli airlines said they were arranging flights from Istanbul on Wednesday for Israelis who want to leave Turkey.

On Wednesday, there was a large security presence around the consulate, with hundreds of police officers and around 10 water cannon vehicles deployed behind a line of metal barriers. Police conducted identity checks on those seeking to pass through.

Reuters contributed to this report.