President Joe Biden landed in Israel on Wednesday morning for a visit intended to reassure all sides, only to find a regional crisis worsening by the hour.
He arrives in the aftermath of an attack on a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of people, with Israelis and Palestinians blaming each other, sparking street protests across the Middle East.
Plans for a trip to Jordan to meet with key Arab leaders and the Jordanian king were abandoned before he left.
And he is said to have learned aboard Air Force One that his troops in Iraq were targeted by drones in the early hours, an attack that was reportedly thwarted by US forces.
Officials tried to put a brave face on the cancellation of the Jordan leg, which was to include a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
President Joe Biden will be greeted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon his arrival on Israeli soil on Wednesday morning. He finds himself at the heart of a growing storm
On Tuesday, bodies of victims of the strike at al-Ahli hospital are seen lined up in a courtyard
They denied that Biden only learned of their withdrawal when he was already in the motorcade heading to Air Force One.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby emphasized that Biden agreed it was right to postpone the trip to Jordan in a phone call with the country’s king.
‘Of course he would always prefer face-to-face diplomacy. That is the president’s commodity,” he said.
“But he also understands, after this explosion at the hospital, that this is not the right thing to do for – especially for the leaders who are there.”
He said Abbas should stay at home for three days of mourning.
Any trip to the Middle East carries risks for an American president. This time, Biden finds himself in the middle of a geopolitical maelstrom.
Israel is preparing for an expected ground invasion of Gaza in a bid to eradicate the militant group Hamas that launched terrorist attacks that killed at least 1,300 people.
At the same time, Iran and its allies, including Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border, are making angry noises.
The State Department has increased its travel warning to Lebanon to ‘do not travel’, citing missile exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel. Protesters gathered around the US embassy in Beirut after news of the hospital strike spread, further increasing tensions.
Palestinian authorities said 500 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack on al-Ahli hospital (photo)
People stand in front of the fire that broke out outside the security gate, during clashes between protesters and security forces outside the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon
The unrest means plans for Biden to meet (from left to right) Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have been abandoned. Biden will not travel from Israel to Jordan
White House officials said Biden’s mission was clear: support Israel while warning other actors to stay out of the conflict and help ease humanitarian conditions in Gaza while working to free hostages.
But the attack on al-Ahli hospital, which may have killed as many as 500 people, has disrupted the visit, further raising tensions.
Biden quickly demanded to know exactly what happened.
“I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted,” he said in a White House statement.
“Immediately after hearing this news, I spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and instructed my national security team to continue gathering information on what exactly happened.”
The IDF shared raw footage revealing the moment a rocket misfired and exploded at the same time it hit the hospital in Gaza, killing 500 people.
President Joe Biden was seen boarding Air Force One on Tuesday evening. He landed in Israel on Wednesday morning, amid a worsening crisis
Israel was quickly blamed, but denied that one of its missiles had caused the explosion.
The Israeli military shared unedited footage, revealing what they said was the moment a rocket misfired and exploded at the same time the Gaza hospital was hit.
“A rocket aimed at Israel misfired and exploded at 6:59 p.m. – the same time a hospital in Gaza was hit,” the IDF wrote on Twitter.
The video shows a rocket exploding in mid-air before descending downward.
With Arab meetings canceled, the danger for Biden now is that his visit will be nothing more than an opportunity to make clear that he stands with Israel.
Kirby insisted that Biden would do more than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in any way he could help.
“He will ask some tough questions, he will ask them as a friend, as a true friend of Israel, but he will also ask some questions of them,” Kirby said.
In a sign of what could happen next, officials described how U.S. forces thwarted a drone strike in Iraq.
The one-way drones were intercepted as they tried to attack Al Asad air base, where US troops are housed, the officials told Reuters.
They did not say who they believed was behind the attack.
