Israel publishes what it says is intercepted Hamas callIsrael’s foreign ministry has published what it claims is an intercepted call between two Hamas operatives where they discuss how the al-Ahli Arab hospital has been struck by a failed rocket fired from within Gaza.
Hamas terrorists in their own voices:
Listen to the conversation between Hamas operatives as they discuss the failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on October 17, 2023 pic.twitter.com/PUUuqE2Imu
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 18, 2023The call was played as part of an IDF spokesperson press briefing earlier on Wednesday when Israel denied responsibility for the explosion at the hospital, placing the blame with a failed rocket launch.
The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the origin or timing of the recording.
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Here are some of the latest images sent to us over the news wires from the site of the blast at al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza.
A man pushes a cart carrying salvaged mattresses, pillows, and sheets. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty ImagesPeople gather by the wrapped bodies of victims who died in an overnight blast at the hospital. The death toll has been put variously between 300 and 500. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty ImagesA damaged vehicle belonging to the hospital. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty ImagesA view of the surroundings of the al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images
Lili Bayer
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 tells Israelis: ‘Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team’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.
Joe Biden arrives in Tel Aviv as IDF seeks to show proof failed rocket launch caused hospital blast
Julian Borger
Julian Borger is in Tel Aviv for the Guardian. Here is his latest report:
Joe Biden has landed in Israel in a bid to prevent the conflict over Gaza escalating into a regional war, and to mitigate the unfolding humanitarian disaster in the territory in the wake of a blast in a hospital causing mass casualties.
The explosion at the Gaza City hospital led to the cancellation of the second leg of Biden’s trip, to meet Arab leaders in Jordan, before the president had even left Washington. He is due to return directly to Washington after meetings with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, top civilian and military officials in Tel Aviv, as well as families of victims of the Hamas attack on 7 October which killed more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians, and began the latest cycle of violence.
Joe Biden is welcomed by the Israeli prime minster, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersThe Gaza health ministry, run by Hamas, blamed an Israeli strike for the hospital blast. The Israel Defence Forces, said it was caused by a failed rocket launch by another militant Palestinian group, Islamic Jihad. The group denied responsibility.
An official from the Gaza civil defence said more than 300 people had been killed in the blast.
A view of the surroundings of al-Ahli Arab hospital after the explosion. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty ImagesThe IDF produced evidence on Wednesday morning, which it said showed there was no crater at the hospital that would have pointed to an air strike. Instead the blast had been caused by the warhead and propellant of a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari speaks to the press. Photograph: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty ImagesBiden’s trip is intended to show solidarity with Israel in the wake of the 7 October Hamas attack, and to deter the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia intervening across the Lebanese border. But the White House said Biden would also be asking “tough questions” about its strategy in Gaza, and about humanitarian relief for more than two million Palestinians trapped and under constant bombardment in Gaza, with virtually no access to water, food or medical supplies.
The UN said more than 3,000 Palestinians had died in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas assault.
Here are some of the first images of Joe Biden’s arrival in Israel.
President Joe Biden disembarks Air Force One. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersJoe Biden on the tarmac at Tel Aviv with Israeli leaders. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersJoe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu greet each other in Tel Aviv. Photograph: Evan Vucci/APPope Francis on Wednesday deplored the “desperate” situation in Gaza as he urged the faithful to take “only one side” in the Israel-Hamas conflict – “the side of peace”.
Reuters reports that speaking during his weekly audience in St Peter’s Square, Francis did not explicitly mention the Gaza hospital explosion for which Israelis and Palestinians are blaming each other and which has sparked widespread protests.
Pope Francis speaks during his weekly general audience. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP
Aletha Adu
Humza Yousef has expressed his deep concern after his mother and father-in-laws’ house was surrounded by debris after a near miss attack on Tuesday.
Scotland’s first minister said an Israeli missile had struck a house across the road from his in-laws, killing all 15 people inside.
He told Good Morning Britain: “The scale of explosion shattered all the windows in my mum-in-law’s house, all the glass broken, mirrors broken, much debris around.
“It was a devastating scene. I spoke to her this morning and she didn’t sleep a wink last night given the worry and concern. We’re just desperate to get them back home … we’re just one story, there’s 2.2 million people in Gaza who are innocent of any crime and it’s about time that humanitarian corridors are open, supplies let in and people let out.”
Yousaf first learned of the attack when he received a call from his mother-in-law an hour after his speech at SNP conference on Tuesday “in a panic” after they thought they were struck by a missile.
His wife’s parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, who live in Dundee, travelled to Gaza last week to visit their son and four grandchildren and Maged’s 92-year-old mother, who is unwell.
The couple have been unable to find safe passage out of Gaza since the first Hamas attack took place on the border with Israel on Saturday.
Yousaf said his in-laws were as “safe as you can be in the midst of a war zone”.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Yousaf said the more than 100 people living in his mother-in-law’s house were safe but he and his wife were “just torn apart with worry as you can imagine, because their supplies are low.”
Joe Biden has disembarked from Air Force One at Tel Aviv airport.
The Israeli prime minister’s office has published a live stream of Joe Biden arriving at Tel Aviv.
WATCH LIVE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog welcome President of the United States Joe Biden upon his arrival to Israel. t.co/S5x2JFtwOr
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 18, 2023
Lili Bayer
Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said this morning on social media that he is “appalled by the tragic attack on al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital hospital.”
“It’s imperative that all the facts surrounding this incident are thoroughly investigated, and those responsible are held accountable. We also urge for immediate access to humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip to provide assistance,” he added.
The US president, Joe Biden, has landed in Tel Aviv.
Israel publishes what it says is intercepted Hamas callIsrael’s foreign ministry has published what it claims is an intercepted call between two Hamas operatives where they discuss how the al-Ahli Arab hospital has been struck by a failed rocket fired from within Gaza.
Hamas terrorists in their own voices:
Listen to the conversation between Hamas operatives as they discuss the failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on October 17, 2023 pic.twitter.com/PUUuqE2Imu
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) October 18, 2023The call was played as part of an IDF spokesperson press briefing earlier on Wednesday when Israel denied responsibility for the explosion at the hospital, placing the blame with a failed rocket launch.
The Guardian has not been able to independently verify the origin or timing of the recording.
Here are some still images of the press briefing by Daniel Hagari, where he is claiming that Israel did not strike the al-Ahli Arab hospital, but that the explosion was caused by a failed rocket fired from near the hospital, which was carrying a significant propellant load that ignited.
Israeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari speaks to the press, showing an image of fire damage in the hospital parking lot. Photograph: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Israeli army spokesperson with a chart showing what Israel claims was the intended trajectory of the failed rocket it says hit the hospital in Gaza. Photograph: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty ImagesIsraeli army spokesperson Daniel Hagari with a map which Israel claims shows the high number of rocket launch failures in Gaza in recent days. Photograph: Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images