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Biden visit from Israel

By Khaza Moinuddin Published 9 months ago 4 min read

US President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel on an extraordinary high-stakes trip as the region is gripped by violence in the aftermath of Hamas' attacks and Israel's subsequent response. Speaking alongside Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said it appeared Tuesday's deadly blast at a Gaza hospital was "done by the other team, not you," echoing Israeli assertions that the bombing was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket. Palestinian officials have blamed Israel. Conditions are "spiraling out of control" for the 2.2 million people now trapped in Gaza, the head of the WHO said Wednesday. Israel has vowed to wipe out Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, in response to the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 1,400 people. At least 3,300 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Here's how to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza.

Hezbollah claims responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Israeli tank

From CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq and Mohammed Abdelbary, and Sarah el-Sirgany in southern Lebanon

Hezbollah’s military wing has claimed responsibility for an attack on an Israeli tank at the border between Israel and Lebanon early on Wednesday morning.

The attack targeted a Merkava tank and recorded a direct hit “killing and wounding its crew," according to a statement released by the Iran-backed armed group.

Hezbollah announced on Tuesday that five of its fighters were killed, without providing further details about the date or the location. Its statement did not mention the number of Israeli casualties.

In a separate video released on Wednesday, Hezbollah said it targeted another Merkava tank on Tuesday afternoon at the Israeli army's Al-Bayad site, and claimed that it "achieved confirmed casualties" with guided missiles.

8 min ago

Geolocated video shows moment of blast at Gaza hospital

From CNN’s Teele Rebane and Mihir Melwani in Hong Kong

A video geolocated by CNN shows the moment a large blast happened at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza in which hundreds of people are reported to have been killed.

In the video, the sky lights up as a large blast erupts on the hospital grounds, sending a cloud of smoke into the air.

Authorities in Gaza have said Israel was behind Tuesday's deadly blast, while the Israel Defense Forces assert that its intelligence showed it was a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.

CNN cannot independently verify what caused the blast.

President Joe Biden, center left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center right, participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with Israeli and U.S. government officials, on October 18, in Tel Aviv, Israel. President Joe Biden, center left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center right, participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with Israeli and U.S. government officials, on October 18, in Tel Aviv, Israel. Evan Vucci/AP

President Joe Biden pledged US support for Israel in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the country's war cabinet in an expanded bilateral meeting in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, saying, "We will continue to have Israel's back as you work to defend your people.”

“We’ll continue to work with you and partners across the region to prevent more tragedy to innocent civilians,” Biden told Netanyahu and members of the war cabinet, blasting Hamas’ attack as “brutal, inhuman, almost beyond belief.”

For his part, Netanyahu slammed Hamas for committing “this terrible, double-war crime against humanity.”

“While Israel seeks to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas seeks to maximize civilian casualties,” Netanyahu said. “Hamas wants to kill as many Israelis as possible and has no regard whatsoever to Palestinian lives – every day they perpetrate a double war crime, targeting our civilians while hiding behind their civilians, embedding themselves in the civilian population and using them as human shields.”

The Israeli prime minister also addressed the hospital bombing in Gaza overnight, in which preliminary estimates indicate hundreds were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza,

“We saw the cost of this terrible war crime yesterday, when a rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists misfired and landed on a Palestinian hospital,” Netanayahu said. “The entire world was rightfully outraged – but this outrage should be directed not at Israel, but at the terrorists. As we proceed in this war, Israel will do everything it can to keep civilians out of harm's way.”

Authorities in Gaza have said Israel was behind the blast, while the Israel Defense Forces said its intelligence showed a “failed rocket launch” by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group was responsible.

Earlier Wednesday, Biden briefly addressed the hospital bombing during a meeting with Netanyahu, telling the Israeli prime minister that it “appears as though it was done by the other team.”

32 min ago

Egyptian president suggests Gaza civilians should be relocated to desert inside Israel

From CNN's Eyad Kourdi

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi give a joint press statement during the former's visit to Cairo, Egypt, on October 18. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi give a joint press statement during the former's visit to Cairo, Egypt, on October 18. Michael Kappeler/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi suggested Wednesday that displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza could be relocated to a desert area within Israel while the current conflict continues.

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    Khaza Moinuddin Written by Khaza Moinuddin

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