The US president, Joe Biden, in a joint press conference in Tel Aviv with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday that Washington would provide Israel with everything it needed to defend itself, while appearing to accept Israel’s assertion that a blast at a hospital in Gaza had been caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch.
Biden said Hamas was worse than Islamic State for its killings of Israeli civilians in the surprise attack on 7 October which the president characterised as “slaughter”. He said Hamas “committed evils and atrocities that make Isis somewhat more rational”.
He said he was “sad and outraged” by an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which Hamas said killed hundreds of people.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we’ve got to overcome a lot of things,” Biden told the Israeli PM.
At the conference, Benjamin Netanyahu said 1,400 Israelis, “maybe more” had been murdered during the Hamas attack, and thanked the US for “your support and your steadfast commitment to provide us with the tools we need to defend ourselves,” saying it was the first visit to Israel “by an American president during a time of war.”
Earlier IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari had presented what the Israel claims is evidence that the devastating explosion at the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital was caused by a misfiring rocket from inside Gaza launched by Islamic Jihad. He said that propellant from the rocket had ignited and caused the explosion, and that imagery from the site showed it could not have been caused by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Authorities in Gaza have put the death toll at the hospital at 300, and stated that over 3,000 Palestinians had already been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its series of retaliatory strikes after 7 October.
A statement signed by more than 800 legal scholars, including experts in international law and Holocaust and genocide studies, has warned that Israel is at risk of committing genocide in Gaza.
Their statement said: “We are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We do not do so lightly, recognising the weight of this crime, but the gravity of the current situation demands it.”
It added: “Israel’s current military offensive on the Gaza Strip … is unprecedented in scale and severity, and consequently in its ramifications for the population of Gaza. Following the incursion by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, including criminal attacks against Israeli civilians, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to incessant and indiscriminate bombardment by Israeli forces.”
The signatories “urgently appeal to states to take concrete and meaningful steps to individually and collectively prevent genocidal acts, in line with their legal duty to prevent the crime of genocide. They must protect the Palestinian population, and ensure that Israel refrains from any further incitement to genocide and from the perpetration of conduct prohibited by article II of the genocide convention.”
Meanwhile, some of the UK’s leading Jewish lawyers have warned Israel of its obligations under international law in its war with Hamas.
Lord Neuberger, Philippe Sands and six other prominent UK Jewishlawyers condemned atrocities committed by Hamas as crimes against humanity and war crimes, but added “there are laws that we must all live by”.
In a letter to the FT, they said: “There are some aspects of Israel’s response that already cause significant concern. International law forbids sieges of civilian populations … collective punishment is prohibited by the laws of war. Equally, international law requires combatants to ensure minimum destruction to civilian life and infrastructure.”
They add: “In these early days when emotions are so understandably raw, many might be reluctant to remind Israel of its international law obligations, considering to do so insensitive or inappropriate. However, we disagree.”
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has condemned the attack on the hospital in Gaza as “senseless” and “horrifying”.
“Hamas’s terror has plunged Israel and Palestine into a new spiral of violence. Last night, a new, senseless tragedy has shocked us all. A hospital in Gaza – sheltering hundreds of wounded people – was turned into a hell of fire. The scenes from al-Ahli hospital are horrifying and distressing. There is no excuse for hitting a hospital full of civilians. All facts need to be established, and those responsible must be held accountable.
“In this tragic hour, we must all redouble our efforts to protect civilians from the fury of this war.”
Here is the video clip of the US president, Joe Biden, in Tel Aviv talking about the claim that the explosions at the al-Ahli Arab hospital was caused by a failed rocket launch from inside Gaza.
France is advising its citizens not to travel to Lebanon.
Iran’s foreign ministry has urged countries to impose sanctions on Israel. Reuters reports it said in a statement:
The foreign minister calls for an immediate and complete embargo on Israel by Islamic countries, including oil sanctions, in addition to expelling Israeli ambassadors if relations with the Zionist regime have been established.
Iran does not have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Reuters has a quick snap that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said that the explosion at a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of Palestinians was a terrible catastrophe that showed the conflict should be ended.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has said “antisemitism has no place in Germany” after an attack outside a synagogue in Berlin in which police say two molotov cocktails were thrown at the building.
Reuters reports Scholz said during a visit to Egypt: “I want to expressly say that I am outraged. It outrages me personally what some are shouting and doing.”
In a social media post, he added: “Attacks on Jewish institutions and acts of violence on our streets are despicable and cannot be tolerated. Antisemitism has no place in Germany.”
Two hooded men threw the molotov cocktails at a synagogue in central Berlin early on Wednesday morning, police said, adding that they had arrested a man who shouted antisemitic slogans while they were investigating.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, is confident that aid could be allowed into Gaza soon after his talks with the leaders of Israel, Jordan and Egypt, he said on Wednesday.
“We are all closely aligned so I have a feeling it could happen soon,” Reuters reports Scholz as saying in Cairo following his meeting with the Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi.
The UK’s foreign secretary has said “too many jumped to conclusions” about the blast at the al-Ahli Arab hospital hospital.
In a post to social media, James Cleverly wrote: “Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at Al Ahli hospital. Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk. Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail.”
Earlier the Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari criticised the media for spreading what he said were “false and baseless allegations made by terrorists against Israel”.
The US president, Joe Biden, in a joint press conference in Tel Aviv with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday that Washington would provide Israel with everything it needed to defend itself, while appearing to accept Israel’s assertion that a blast at a hospital in Gaza had been caused by a failed Palestinian rocket launch.
Biden said Hamas was worse than Islamic State for its killings of Israeli civilians in the surprise attack on 7 October which the president characterised as “slaughter”. He said Hamas “committed evils and atrocities that make Isis somewhat more rational”.
He said he was “sad and outraged” by an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, which Hamas said killed hundreds of people.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we’ve got to overcome a lot of things,” Biden told the Israeli PM.
At the conference, Benjamin Netanyahu said 1,400 Israelis, “maybe more” had been murdered during the Hamas attack, and thanked the US for “your support and your steadfast commitment to provide us with the tools we need to defend ourselves,” saying it was the first visit to Israel “by an American president during a time of war.”
Earlier IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari had presented what the Israel claims is evidence that the devastating explosion at the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital was caused by a misfiring rocket from inside Gaza launched by Islamic Jihad. He said that propellant from the rocket had ignited and caused the explosion, and that imagery from the site showed it could not have been caused by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Authorities in Gaza have put the death toll at the hospital at 300, and stated that over 3,000 Palestinians had already been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel launched its series of retaliatory strikes after 7 October.
The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, has reiterated the strong need for Europe to condemn Hamas, but also to condemn any attack on civilians by Israel in the defence of its country that breaches international humanitarian law.
His remarks follow discord at the top in Brussels, with the European Commisssion leader, Ursula von der Leyen, accused of initially failing to emphasise that Israel’s defence needed to be within the scope of international law in the days following Hamas’s attack.
“Let’s repeat it one more time. And let’s also say that Israel has – of course – the right to defend itself. She has always had it and anyone who found themselves attacked in this brutal way would have the right to defend themselves.
“But I think we are all united in saying that the right to defence, like all rights, has limits. And, in this case, they are the limits set by international law and, in particular, international humanitarian law. All this is already obvious, and we can repeat it, but repeating it will not make us advance in the necessary reflection that guides action,” said Borrell.
“Because condemning one tragedy should not prevent us from condemning another. Showing our pity for the dead, victims of terrorist attacks, should not – and does not – prevent us from also demonstrating our feelings for other dead people.
“In these tragic moments, I believe that the European Union must base its response on four principles: firmness, humanity, coherence, and a proactive political attitude in the face of this conflict.”
Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from the site of the blast at al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.
Roberta Metsola, president of the European parliament, said today that “the devastation of a hospital is horrific and unjustifiable, and we must ensure we continue to shed light on what happened. As the tragedy in the Middle East continues to unfold, it is once again the innocent who are forced to pay the price. We must remain clear that protecting civilian lives must keep being a priority. We cannot lose sight of the humanitarian consequences.”
Biden has said Hamas has “committed evil atrocities that make Isis look somewhat rational”.
He said: “We have to also bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people, and has brought them only suffering.”
The US president also said: “I’m deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there’s a lot of people out there not sure, so we have to overcome a lot of things.”
He said the US would give Israel what it needed to defend itself. He finished by saying the bravery of the Israeli people was stunning, and he was proud to be there.
The pair did not take questions.
Biden says that the US is grieving with Israel.
Joe Biden said: “I wanted to be here today. For a simple reason I want the people of Israel, the people in the world to know where the United States stands.”
Here is what Benjamin Netanyahu has said in opening:
I want to thank you for coming here today and for the unequivocal support you have given Israel during these trying times. The support that reflects the overwhelming will of the American people.
I’ve seen your support every day and the depth and breadth of cooperation that we have had since the beginning, a level of cooperation that is truly unprecedented in the history of the great alliance between our two nations.
We see that support and your steadfast commitment to provide Israel with the tools we need to defend ourselves. We see that support in the clear message you send our enemies not to test our resolve, and in the two American carrier battle groups that you send to the region to back up those words, with action but above all, Mr. President, the world sees that support and the moral clarity that you have demonstrated from the moment Israel was attacked.
You rightly drawn a clear line between the forces of civilization the forces of barbarism and describe what commands do a sheer evil.
It is exactly that.
Hamas murder children in front of their parents, and parents in front of their children. They burned people alive. They raped and murdered women. They beheaded soldiers, and they searched for the secret hiding places where parents hid their children. Just imagine, Mr President, the fear and the panic of those little children in their last moments as the monsters discovered, found out, their hiding places.
The Israeli prime minister has greeted Biden and thanked him for the unprecedented support and “moral clarity” that the US has given Israel.
Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu are giving a joint press conference in Tel Aviv. I’ll bring you the key lines.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVndWFyZGlhbi5jb20vd29ybGQvbGl2ZS8yMDIzL29jdC8xOC9pc3JhZWwtaGFtYXMtd2FyLWxpdmUtbmV3cy1nYXphLWhvc3BpdGFsLXdlc3QtYmFuay11cGRhdGUtam9lLWJpZGVuLXZpc2l0LXByb3Rlc3RzLWxhdGVzdC11cGRhdGVz0gEA?oc=5
2023-10-18 10:16:00Z
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