Medical staff in Gaza hospitals: “This is an urgent appeal”
Medical staff in Gaza hospitals are making an “urgent appeal” as hospitals are overwhelmed with patients and supplies and running low on food and medicine.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Joe Biden struck a deal with Israel on Wednesday to allow humanitarian aid to Gaza, while backing Israelis’ claim that they were not behind the explosion that occurred at a hospital in Gaza City Hundreds of people were killed.
The humanitarian aid, along with $100 million in new U.S. funding for Gaza and the West Bank announced by Biden, could provide a vital lifeline for Palestinians in the besieged territory, where water, food, fuel and medicine are urgently needed .
Biden and his administration said a U.S. assessment concluded that Israel did not cause Tuesday’s explosion at Al Ahli Arab Hospital. “Based on what I saw, it looks like the other team did it, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Hamas said the blast killed nearly 500 people and blamed it on an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military denied this and released video, audio and other information indicating a missile misfire by Islamic Jihad, a militant group that sometimes cooperates with Hamas and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States
The hospital massacre sparked outrage across the region, and Jordan canceled a summit planned for Wednesday in Amman where Biden would meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas was supposed to meet.
Developments:
∎ Mohammed Abu Selmia – the general director of Shifa Hospital, where all the wounded and dead were transferred after the blast – said early Wednesday he believed the death toll was around 250, with hundreds more injured, reported The Associated Press.
∎ About three-quarters of voters believe supporting Israel is in the U.S. national interest, but 85% are at least somewhat concerned that the current conflict could escalate into a larger war in the Middle East, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.
∎ Intelligence officials expressed concerns about possible consequences in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. At the “Five Eyes” intelligence summit on Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agency is working with local law enforcement to combat domestic violence threats in Jewish and Muslim communities.
∎ According to the Ministry of Health, more than 3,000 people were killed and more than 12,500 injured in Gaza. At least 1,400 people were killed and almost 4,000 injured in Israel.
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Hundreds of protesters were arrested by Capitol Police on Wednesday during a rally organized by two American Jewish left-wing anti-Zionist groups, Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. Protesters gathered in the rotunda of the Cannon House office building, demanding a ceasefire and an end to the Israel-Hamas war.
Capitol Police told news outlets that about 300 people were arrested. But Jewish Voice for Peace disputed that claim and said about 500 protesters had been arrested.
According to Capitol Police, most of the protesters were arrested for demonstrating in a congressional building and three were charged with assaulting a police officer.
“We warned protesters to stop demonstrating, and when they did not comply, we began arresting them,” Capitol Police said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The New York Times reported that about 400 people gathered inside the building, led by about 25 rabbis who read testimonies from Palestinians in Gaza and recited prayers. Outside the building, hundreds more marched, chanting “ceasefire now” and chanting in Hebrew and English.
The incident limited public access to the Capitol on Wednesday.
A State Department official announced his resignation on Wednesday, citing disagreement with Biden’s approach to the war and the United States’ “ongoing lethal aid to Israel.” The Huffington Post first reported the official’s resignation on Wednesday.
According to his statement and LinkedIn profile, Josh Paul worked for the Office of Political-Military Affairs for over a decade, overseeing arms transfers and supplies to foreign powers.
“In my 11 years, I have made more moral compromises than I can remember, each serious, but each with my promise to myself in mind and intact,” Paul wrote in a LinkedIn post. “I am leaving today because I believe that with our current course toward the continued—indeed expanded and accelerated—supply of lethal weapons to Israel, I have reached the end of that deal.”
The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a “humanitarian pause” in Gaza. The resolution proposed by Brazil would have condemned all violence against civilians in the war and urged humanitarian aid in the region.
Twelve of the Security Council’s 15 members voted for the resolution, but the United States voted against it, while Russia and the United Kingdom abstained. The resolution received widespread support and the United States’ decision had drawn criticism.
But US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield noted that Biden was in the region to conduct diplomacy and obtain further information. She said the council must allow diplomatic efforts to develop and criticized the resolution for not mentioning Israel’s right to self-defense.
While returning from Israel aboard Air Force One, Biden told reporters that he had spoken with El-Sisi on Wednesday and that the Egyptian leader had agreed to allow up to 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid through the Rafah Gate, the crossing that enters his country that connects with Gaza.
“If Hamas confiscates it or doesn’t let it through … then it will end because we will not send humanitarian aid to Hamas,” Biden said. “The bottom line is that El-Sisi deserves real credit because he was very accommodating.”
Biden said Ambassador David Satterfield, whom the president named this week as special envoy for humanitarian issues in the Middle East, would coordinate the operation.
Aid may not reach Gaza until Friday, Biden said. The roads need to be repaired first and work will begin tomorrow. Biden said the U.S. would work to get as many waiting trucks as possible cleared to enter the Gaza Strip, but not all would be allowed in.
Biden had originally planned to meet with El-Sisi, King Abdullah II and Abbas in Jordan after a stop in Israel, but that summit was canceled after the hospital explosion in Gaza City. Instead, Biden said he and El-Sisi had a long telephone conversation.
“I came to get something done, I got it done,” Biden said, adding that the Defense Department had told him it was “highly unlikely” that Israel was involved in the hospital explosion.
The White House said Biden will deliver a televised address from the Oval Office on Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT on Hamas’ attack on Israel and Russia’s war on Ukraine.
− Francesca Chambers
Biden promised on Wednesday that the US will do everything it can to make Israel safe again for the Jewish people. At the same time, he announced new aid to the Palestinians and warned Israelis not to allow themselves to be consumed by anger.
“Israel will be a safe, secure, Jewish and democratic state today, tomorrow and forever,” Biden said in Tel Aviv after a series of meetings with Israeli leaders and survivors of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.
Biden said he would ask Congress for an “unprecedented” support package for Israel.
“Israel must once again be a safe place for the Jewish people,” he said, “and I promise you we will do everything in our power to ensure it remains that way.”
Biden also called on Israel to learn from the United States, which sought justice but also made mistakes after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He encouraged Israel to ask hard questions, be clear about its goals and clarify whether a course of action would achieve those goals.
“You are a Jewish state, but you are also a democracy…You live by the rule of law,” Biden said. “If you give that up, the terrorists win. And we must never let them win.”
− Maureen Groppe
Netanyahu assured Biden that Israel would try to limit civilian casualties in the war with Hamas.
“As we continue this war, Israel will do everything it can to keep civilians out of harm’s way,” Netanyahu said during a meeting with Biden and Israel’s War Cabinet.
His office later said in a statement that Israel would allow aid to flow into Gaza at Biden’s request.
“Israel will not prevent humanitarian aid from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for civilians in or evacuated from the southern Gaza Strip, and as long as these supplies do not reach Hamas,” the statement said said. “All deliveries reaching Hamas will be prevented.”
Biden met with Israel’s War Cabinet shortly after arriving in Tel Aviv as part of a hastily arranged trip to show solidarity with the U.S.’s oldest Middle East ally.
– Michael Collins
U.S. officials said Wednesday their initial assessment shows Israel was not behind the Gaza hospital explosion that killed hundreds of civilians.
“While we continue to gather information, our current assessment, based on analysis of aerial photographs, intercepted images and open source information, is that Israel is not responsible for yesterday’s hospital explosion in Gaza,” said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the White National Security Council in a statement.
Hamas blamed Israel for Tuesday’s blast, while Israel said the blast came from a misfired rocket from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad.
Biden said he was “outraged and saddened” by the loss of life in Gaza City. “Based on the information we have seen so far, it appears to be the result of an erroneous rocket launch by a terrorist group in Gaza,” he said in a speech.
– Francesca Chambers and Tom Vanden Brook
More than 100 demonstrators protesting the war between Israel and Hamas were arrested at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Hundreds of the protesters, organized by the left-wing advocacy group Jewish Voice for Peace, stormed to the Capitol and staged a sit-in outside the Cannon House office building, demanding an immediate ceasefire. Capitol Police began arresting protesters and escorting them out of the building. While office buildings on Capitol Hill are open to the public, “demonstrations are not permitted inside congressional buildings,” the U.S. Capitol Police tweeted. –Ken Tran
Senators met in a secret session Wednesday afternoon to hear from senior Biden administration officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chief of Staff CQ Brown and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the meeting that Biden officials reiterated that Israel was not responsible for the explosion at a hospital in Gaza. He also referenced the Senate’s passage of an Israeli aid package, telling reporters he asked Austin when he needed the funding.
“His answer was crystal clear — yesterday,” Schumer said. “The Senate will not wait. We have to act quickly. We hope no one tries to slow down this much-needed help.”
Senators leaving the meeting said they expect an additional aid package by the end of the week.
−Rachel Looker
Israel is seeking $10 billion in U.S. aid after Hamas attacks killed more than 1,400 people on Israeli territory on Oct. 7, according to a U.S. official familiar with the request.
About 70% of the Israeli request is believed to be for military equipment, according to the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the request. Israel has asked the Pentagon for interceptor missiles for its Iron Dome missile defense system, precision-guided weapons and artillery shells. The weapons are expected to be needed for the planned invasion of Gaza.
The proposed relief package would be part of a supplemental request that the administration is expected to seek from Congress. Bloomberg and the Washington Post have reported that the White House is also likely to seek additional aid to Ukraine and other emergency aid totaling $100 billion.
According to the Congressional Research Service, military aid to Israel totaled $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2023.
−Tom Vanden Brook
The United States exercised its veto power in the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to prevent a resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in the war between Israel and Hamas from advancing. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged the council to let Biden’s diplomacy in the region run its course, arguing that Israel has a right to self-defense.
“Yes, resolutions are important. And yes, this council needs to speak out,” she said. “But the actions we take must be based on the facts on the ground and support direct diplomatic efforts that can save lives.”
Russia and Britain abstained from voting on the resolution, which called for a pause to allow humanitarian aid to be delivered to Gaza. The other twelve nations on the council supported the measure and the United States was the only one to vote against it.
− Francesca Chambers
Massive protests erupted across the Middle East overnight and continued into Wednesday after the deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza City.
Thousands of angry protesters took to the streets in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and other Arab countries to condemn Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. Large demonstrations took place in front of the missions of Israel and its allies, including the USA, France and Great Britain.
In Egypt, thousands of students demonstrated at universities. Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria and other cities chanted “Death to Israel” and “With our souls, with our blood we sacrifice for you, Al-Aqsa,” referring to a disputed holy site in Jerusalem, The Associated Press reported. A smaller protest took place near the US Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday.
In Beirut, videos of protests show the army barricading itself between demonstrators and the US embassy. On Tuesday, the US State Department issued a travel ban advisory for Lebanon, citing “missile, rocket and artillery exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah or other armed militant factions.”
Meanwhile, clashes broke out between protesters and Palestinian security forces in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, demanding the ouster of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
In a Tel Aviv hotel ballroom on Wednesday, Biden comforted Israelis affected by the Hamas attack.
“God love you,” an emotional Biden told a survivor.
He hugged a woman who had rescued people on her kibbutz during the Oct. 7 attack.
Before the meeting closed to reporters, Biden expressed solidarity with Israel and quoted Irish poet William Butler Yeats, who said: “A sacrifice too long turns the heart to stone.”
“None of your hearts have yet been turned to stone,” he said.
Among those Biden met with was Mohammad Darawshe, a director of an organization that works to bridge the gap between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. According to the White House, his cousin, an Arab-Israeli paramedic, died while saving lives at the Nova Festival on October 7.
– Maureen Bullhead
The Biden administration said it would sanction Iran over its ballistic missile program and support for terrorism in an effort to stop Iran from worsening instability in the Middle East.
Iran provides military aid to Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Lebanon-based Hezbollah. The US has classified both groups as terrorist organizations. The sanctions are intended to prevent Iran from using the U.S. and international financial systems and accessing equipment and capabilities that would allow Iran to build and sell weapons.
The measures by the United States and a coalition of more than 45 nations were described to reporters by two senior administration officials and are intended to replace United Nations sanctions that expire this week. The Biden administration also hopes to hinder Iran’s ability to supply Russia with drones, which it says Vladimir Putin’s government is using to attack civilians and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
–Francesca Chambers
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday evening to “express his deepest condolences for the civilians who died in the hospital explosion,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
“The Secretary emphasized that the United States unequivocally condemns all terrorism and emphasized the United States’ firm commitment to upholding the laws of war, including important protections for civilians,” Miller said.
The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which owns and operates Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City where hundreds of people were killed in an explosion, condemned the incident and declared a day of mourning on Wednesday.
Tuesday’s blast sparked outrage from Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who canceled the Arab summit with Biden. The 22 Arab countries also declared national days of mourning at the United Nations or condemned the explosion and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
The devastating explosion and fire at the hospital came amid a global day of fasting and prayer for peace in the Holy Land called for by church leaders, including Pope Francis, and Christian denominations. The 80-bed hospital and its grounds had become a refuge for hundreds of people and were full of victims of Israeli airstrikes and their families.
“The devastation observed, coupled with the sacrilegious attack on the church, strikes at the core of human decency. We state unequivocally that this deserves international condemnation and retribution,” the diocese said in a statement. “There is an urgent appeal to the international community to fulfill its duty to protect civilians and ensure that such inhumane, horrific acts are not repeated.”
The Israel Defense Forces, also known as the IDF, is the national army of Israel. It consists of three branches: Army, Navy and Air Force. It is a military service, meaning that Israel requires IDF service for Jewish, Druze and Circassian citizens over the age of 18, with some exceptions.
It was founded in 1948, two weeks after Israel became an independent country.
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance 2023 study, the IDF had 169,500 active troops and was the 28th largest military in the world by active personnel. In addition, there are 465,000 reserve forces that can supplement active forces if necessary.
Hamas – an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Resistance Movement – was founded in 1987 by activists with ties to the Muslim Brotherhood during the first Palestinian uprising against Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The State Department designated Hamas a terrorist organization in 1997, and several other nations also consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections and in 2007 the group violently seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement, which still rules the West Bank. There have been no elections since then. The group calls for the establishment of an Islamic Palestinian state that would replace the current state of Israel and believes in the use of force to destroy Israel.
Hamas receives financial, material and logistical support from Iran. However, so far the United States and other nations have said there is no evidence that Iran was directly involved in the Hamas attack.
Contribution: The Associated Press