Biden Visits Israel

US President Joe Biden visits Israel on Wednesday for a diplomatic effort to prevent the battle with Hamas from becoming a broader conflict -- a challenge that has become more difficult after anger rose throughout the Middle East over an explosion that killed hundreds of people at a hospital in the Gaza Strip.

Initially, Beden was prepped to visit Jordan as well, but his meetings with Arab leaders have been cancelled as he left Washington.

Now Biden will remain alone in Israel, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah. Israel is preparing for a possible land invasion of Gaza in response to attacks by Palestinian militant group Hamas, who have left 1,400 Israelites dead.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters who were traveling with the Biden team to Israel that American President “wants to take the Israeli stance on the field situation” and “will ask some difficult questions”.

“He will ask them as a friend”, Kirby added.

The US president has also been envisioned to meet with emergency teams and the family members of victims and hostages taken by Hamas during the militants' attacks in Israel.

Almost 2,800 Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza. Even 1,200 people are believed to be trapped under rubble, alive or dead, health authorities have said.

These figures do not include the victims of Tuesday's explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital. The cause of the explosion has not yet been determined.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza, the territory controlled by Hamas, said an Israeli air strike hit the hospital. The Israeli Army denied involvement and said a failed missile attack by the Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, was responsible for the attack. However, this group has denied responsibility.

Biden said through a statement that he was the angry and deeply grieved “by the explosion at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza and the terrible loss of life as a result of the” explosion. He also said that “I have instructed my national security team to continue collecting information about exactly what happened “.

Protests swept across the region after the deaths reported at the Gaza Hospital, in which injured Palestinians were being treated and other civilians were being accommodated in combat.

Hundreds of Palestinians protested in major cities in the West Coast, including in Ramallah. Protests have also been held in Beirut and Amman, where angry crowds gathered in front of Israeli embassy buildings.

Anger over the hospital explosion caused Beden to allude to the visit to Jordan, where King Abdullah II had planned to be the host of a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el Sissi. But Abbas withdrew from the meeting in protest and then the summit was cancelled.

Kirby said it was a “joint” decision of Jordan and the US to cancel President Biden's meetings in this state. He said the American leader would be able to talk to Arab leaders over the phone when he returns to Washington.

The American leader's visit to Israel coincides with increasing humanitarian concerns in Gaza, territory where Israel has blocked shipments of food, fuel and water. Mediators are trying to remove the blockade and get help to civilians and hospitals. / REL