President Joe Biden said on Oct. 18 that data collected by the U.S. Defense Department supports Israel’s claim that it wasn’t responsible for a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital on Oct. 17.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Tel Aviv following his arrival in the country.
The White House later confirmed this, saying its current assessment showed Israel wasn’t to blame.
“While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts, and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry claimed that at least 500 people were killed in the blast, prompting protests across the Middle East from those who believed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were to blame.
Hamas spread that message, calling the incident a “horrific massacre.”
However, Israel said on Oct. 18 that its own radar and independent footage showed a rocket in a barrage fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad—another terrorist group and a Hamas ally—had misfired and caused a large explosion at the same time as the hospital blast.
Israel noted that if an airstrike had caused the explosion, it would have left a crater, yet none was found at the scene.
The country also released an audio recording between two Hamas terrorists who said they believed the source was the misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad.
President Biden told the prime minister that he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the explosion, but also stressed that Hamas “does not represent all the Palestinian people, and it has brought them only suffering.”
Mr. Netanyahu assured that Israel “will do everything it can to keep civilians out of harm’s way” in its efforts to defeat Hamas, but he also stressed that the road to victory would be “long and hard.”
He also said that President Biden’s visit was “deeply, deeply moving.”
‘You Are Not Alone’
President Biden arrived in Israel at 11 a.m. local time and was greeted by the prime minister with a hug and a handshake. The warm welcome was noteworthy given that the relationship between the two leaders has been somewhat frosty in the past.The president also was scheduled to visit Jordan to meet with Arab leaders, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. After the hospital explosion, however, Mr. Abbas withdrew in protest and the summit was eventually canceled.
Instead, President Biden spent the day meeting with Israeli leaders and citizens, including President Isaac Herzog, Israel’s war Cabinet, first responders, and families that lost loved ones in the deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
Throughout those meetings, he signaled the United States’ continuing support for Israel.
“I come to Israel with a single message: You are not alone,” he said, during his public remarks.
He assured that the United States is “pursuing every avenue” to rescue those still being held hostage by Hamas and to help restore safety and security to Israel.
“The state of Israel was born to be a safe place for the Jewish people. While it may not feel that way today, Israel must again be a safe place for the Jewish people. And I promise you, we’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that it will be.”
President Biden added that he intends to ask Congress for an “unprecedented” support package to bolster Israel’s defense, including ammunition for the nation’s Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.
He also announced $100 million in new funding for humanitarian assistance for both Gaza and the West Bank, noting that he’d asked Israeli authorities to agree to the delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza across the Egypt border.
“Let me be clear,” he said. “If Hamas perverts or steals the assistance, they will have demonstrated once again that they have no concern for the welfare of the Palestinian people. As a practical matter, it will stop the international community from being able to provide this aid.”
The president further emphasized his belief that a two-state solution is the only path that could produce peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
“We must keep working for Israel’s greater integration with its neighbors. These attacks only strengthen my commitment and determination and my will to get that done.”
