Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) greets US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on October 18, 2023 (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
In Tel Aviv, Biden blames Gaza hospital blast on ‘the other team’
In a major boost for Jerusalem, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday backed Israel’s assertion that a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital the night before was the result of a misfired rocket by Palestinian terrorists, as he arrived in Israel for an unprecedented wartime visit by a US president.
“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” said Biden, sitting alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Tel Aviv hotel. “Based on what I’ve seen, it appears it was done by the other team, and not you.”
At the same time, he added, “there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure. So we’ve gotta overcome a lot of things.”
Times if Israel reports that later Wednesday, Biden appeared to be asked by a loud group of reporters what information he used to make his assessment about the source of the Gaza hospital blast. He responded: “Data I was shown by my Defense Department.”
Aboard Air Force One on the flight over, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby had told reporters that Biden was going to ask Netanyahu some “tough questions as a friend of Israel” regarding Jerusalem’s strategy in the Gaza war.
The blast occurred on Tuesday evening in the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital parking lot. Palestinians and much of the Arab world blamed Israel, saying it had struck the medical facility and that hundreds had been killed. Jerusalem was swiftly condemned by Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others.
But the Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday night said it was not behind the blast, and that a misfired rocket launched by Gaza terrorists caused the explosion. Netanyahu and other senior officials pointed at Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel presented additional evidence on Wednesday morning indicating that PIJ was responsible for the blast.
Biden landed at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv at shortly before 11 a.m. for meetings with Israeli officials, almost an hour behind schedule.
During their joint statements in Tel Aviv shortly after landing, Biden compared Hamas to ISIS, saying, “They have committed evils and atrocities that make ISIS look somewhat more rational.”
“Americans are grieving with you, they really are. Americans are worried… because they know this is not an easy field to navigate what you have to do,” the president said. As Israel responds, “it seems to me that you have to continue to ensure that you have what you need to defend yourselves. And we’re going to make sure that occurs.”
At the same time, Biden repeated oblique warnings to Israel about its conduct of the war: “The world is looking. Israel has a value set like the United States does and other democracies, and they’re looking to see what we’re going to do.”
“I am looking forward to having a thorough discussion about where everyone goes from here,” Biden said.
He concluded with a message to Israelis, saying “their courage, their commitment, their bravery is stunning. I’m proud to be here.”
Reading off of notes, Netanyahu spoke before Biden, calling the first-ever US presidential visit Israel in a time of war “deeply, deeply moving.”
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