Joe Biden warns Israel to avoid 9/11 ‘mistakes’

"When this war is over, Hamas will be It's not just the Gaza Strip.'' Gaza, but the area of ​​Gaza will also decrease. ”

His comments came as many fear that Israel is preparing a ground attack on the Gaza Strip, which could lead to an escalation of tensions in the region.

Biden also called on Benjamin Netanyahu's government to authorize emergency aid to the Gaza Strip, but said he would ask the U.S. Congress to provide "an unprecedented package of aid to protect Israel."

Prime Minister Netanyahu said he would not interfere with "humanitarian aid from Egypt as long as it is limited to food, water and medicine" for civilians in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled.

He added that the aid transfer would be conditional on the supplies not reaching Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and Biden said the supplies would be "tested."

An Israeli official with knowledge of the situation said the supplies were intended only for delivery to a "safe zone" west of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and would be managed by international aid groups based in the Strip. The Israeli military announced early Wednesday that it had already provided Gaza residents with a map describing the area.

But the United Nations, Gaza's biggest aid provider, said on Wednesday night that it lacked information about the deal.

UNRWA, the United Nations agency providing aid to the Palestinians, said it was seeking it.

During the bombing of the Gaza Strip, Israel cut off electricity to the Strip, cut off access to fuel, medicine and food, and allowed only a limited supply of fresh water.

Aid groups estimate that 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes in the 11 days since Israel declared war on Hamas in response to the movement's deadly attack on October 7.

As of Wednesday, trucks carrying humanitarian aid remained parked on the Egyptian side of the crossing, waiting to enter, but UNRWA said the humanitarian situation in Gaza "remains very poor."

The UN agency added that despite Israeli warnings to evacuate northern Gaza, some people have returned to the north without being able to find a place to live.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office also clarified that Israel "will not allow any humanitarian aid" from its territory until the approximately 200 hostages abducted by Hamas are returned home.

Tuesday's explosion at the National Arab Hospital in Gaza City cast a shadow over Biden's visit, with Arab leaders canceling previously scheduled summits with the US president.

Israel blames the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, but Palestinian officials blame Israeli airstrikes that killed hundreds of people.

The White House said that while information was being gathered, "current assessment based on analysis of aerial photography, intercepts and open source information" does not indicate Israeli responsibility for the hospital explosion.

"From what I see, it looks like another team did it, not you," Biden said in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “But there are a lot of people who are lost, so there are a lot of things to overcome.”

It was not possible to independently verify the death toll and cause of the explosion. However, Gaza's Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said on Wednesday that 471 people had been killed in the explosion.

The Israeli military said Wednesday that an internal investigation concluded that a rocket fired from a cemetery near the hospital shortly before the explosion missed its target and landed in a nearby parking lot.

On the contrary, many leaders in the region condemned Israel.

After news of the explosion spread late Tuesday, Jordan announced that King Abdullah was hosting a planned summit meeting with Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The meeting was canceled.

Prime Minister Abbas declared three days of mourning for what he called "horrible war crimes."