In the midst of increased Hamas attacks, Joe Biden arrives in war-torn Israel and embraces Netanyahu and Herzog

On Wednesday, US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Israel for a diplomatic flurry to stop the violence with Hamas from escalating. Following a terrible explosion at the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, which according to the Gaza Health Ministry resulted in the deaths of at least 500 people, Biden’s trip to Tel Aviv is taking place.

As he was scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the Jordan part of his tour to coordinate a humanitarian response, the hospital explosion has interfered with Biden’s travel arrangements. The White House cited a time of mourning declared by Abbas as the reason for the postponement of the meeting and the trip’s stop in Jordan.

The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, which is located in the center of Gaza and is run by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, was struck at a time when it was crammed with hundreds of Palestinians seeking safety from a flurry of heavy Israeli airstrikes throughout the confined Gaza Strip.

At least 500 people were killed in the explosion, according to the health ministry in Gaza, while Israel stated that a misfired missile fired by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) armed organization was to blame. The claims were refuted by the PIJ.

President Biden’s already difficult Middle East diplomatic efforts, notably in addressing the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and managing the intricate regional dynamics, have been made even more difficult by the explosion at the Gaza hospital.