Joe Biden exonerated Israel on Wednesday, October 18, following the deadly explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in downtown Gaza. During his visit to the Jewish state, the American president also persuaded his ally that humanitarian aid could soon reach the Gaza Strip.
Also read our live broadcast: Live, Israel-Hamas war: Humanitarian aid will be able to enter the Gaza Strip via Rafah, announced Joe Biden and the Egyptian presidency
Mr Biden personally came to Israel to support the country, which was hit by the bloody attack by the Palestinian Hamas on October 7. Regarding Al-Ahli Hospital, the American president confirmed the Israeli army’s version, which accuses Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian organization, of being responsible for the shooting.
“Based on the information we have so far, it looks like this [l’explosion] or the result of a runaway rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza,” declared Joe Biden, who claims to have compelling evidence from the Pentagon.
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers. Hundreds of civilians killed in Gaza hospital still under blockade
Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza, blamed Israel, as did Iran and many Arab countries, where thousands of protesters took to the streets to denounce “Zionist crimes.”
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Speaking to the press, the American president also reiterated that Israel had given the green light for humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip, responding to the request of the American authorities and the international community.
“Israel will not prevent humanitarian assistance from Egypt as long as it involves food, water and medicine for the civilian population in the south of the Gaza Strip,” an Israeli ministry statement subsequently confirmed. Office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
No delivery of humanitarian aid before Friday
However, Israel imposed a condition: this aid will not pass through its territory until the hostages held by the Palestinian Hamas are released. According to Israel, the Palestinian movement is holding between 200 and 250 hostages, at least 199. Their release is an “absolute priority,” said the American president.
After a telephone interview with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Joe Biden announced that Egypt had agreed to “let up to 20 trucks cross the border” to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. However, that aid is unlikely to arrive before Friday as work still needs to be done on the road destroyed by Israeli bombings.
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Dozens of trucks full of international aid have been waiting for days in Egypt to enter the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border crossing, the only one not controlled by Israel, but which was still closed on Wednesday evening.
When the American president reiterated that he wanted to “overtake as many trucks as possible,” he also warned: “If Hamas.” [s’en] seize it or don’t let it pass (…), then it’s over. »
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Washington also wants Cairo to agree to open its border in the other direction to let out Palestinian civilians, particularly those with American passports. “We’re going to get people out,” Joe Biden said, without giving further details.
Since the Hamas attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel, the IDF has relentlessly bombed the small, overpopulated area of the Gaza Strip, where local authorities say at least 3,478 people have been killed, the majority of them Palestinian civilians. However, they do not indicate whether this assessment also takes into account those of the Al-Ahli Hospital victims.
Rishi Sunak, for his part, is expected in Israel
As Joe Biden assured that he would work with Israel to prevent “further tragedies” for civilians, the United States on Wednesday vetoed a Security Council resolution calling for a “humanitarian pause.” Washington criticized a text that did not mention Israel’s “right to self-defense.”
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For his part, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Israel and several other Middle East capitals on Thursday to insist on the release of humanitarian aid and call for the war to escalate.
The Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents, who also have no electricity, are lacking water and food after Israel has laid siege since October 9 to the small 362 km2 area, which is already poor and cramped with land and sea – and air shortages have been a blockade since Hamas came to power in 2007. According to the World Health Organization, the situation in the Gaza Strip is now “out of control”.
Also read the editorial from Le Monde: Ending the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza