Biden in “Israeli”-Occupied Territories for Support after Strike Kills 500 in Gaza Hospital

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe Biden landed just before 11 a.m. local [4 a.m. eastern] in the “Israeli”-occupied Palestinian territories on Wednesday to signal Washington's support, his second visit to a war zone this year.

Biden, who has expressed "iron-clad" support for the apartheid “Israeli” entity in its war on the besieged Gaza Strip, was welcomed on the tarmac by hardline prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But the horror of the hospital deaths threatened to derail his high-stakes visit, with Jordan cancelling a summit where King Abdullah II had been due to host Biden, Palestinian Authority [PA] president Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Thousands of civilians were seeking medical treatment and shelter in the hospital from relentless "Israeli" airstrikes when the attack took place.

The attack is the deadliest “Israeli” airstrike since 2008, the Palestinian Civil Defense said.

“The massacre at the Ahli Arab Hospital is unprecedented in our history. While we’ve witnessed tragedies in past wars and days, but what took place tonight is tantamount to genocide,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal said.

The media office of Hamas described the attack as a “war crime”.

"The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes" because of other strikes, a statement said.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society [PRCS] condemned the “Israeli” attack as genocide.

The PA President declared three days of mourning following the “Israeli” air strike.

Photos from the Baptist Hospital [Al Ahli Arab Hospital] showed fire engulfing the hospital halls, shattered glass and body parts scattered across the area.

Biden has strongly backed top ally “Israel” and its military campaign after 1,400 settlers were killed in a surprise operation launched by Hamas on October 7.

The visit followed head of US Central Command Gen. Erik Kurilla's arrival in Tel Aviv for meetings with "Israeli" military authorities a day earlier. 

The “Israeli” entity’s military campaign had already left at least 3,000 dead inside Gaza before the hospital was destroyed.

Entire Gaza neighborhoods have been razed and survivors are left with dwindling supplies of food, water and fuel, unable to flee the 40-kilometer long strip that has been blockaded since 2007 by the apartheid entity and Egypt.