Fresh off of calling Jewish anti-war protesters in Congress an "insurrection," far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) used the term again to describe a pro-Palestinian demonstrator who accosted her at the Cannon House Office Building on Wednesday.
"Watch Tlaib’s aggressive insurrectionist come at me in Cannon today," posted Greene on X. "After Hamas murdered and kidnapped innocent Israelis, this antisemite screams 'Let Gaza live' and claims I have blood on my hands. Now Biden wants to give $100 million to Gaza to fund more Hamas terrorism!"
In the video, the protester can indeed be seen interrupting and chanting at her, although he is never violent or threatening.
Greene's final line is a reference to President Joe Biden's commitment to give $100 million to humanitarian efforts in Gaza, as Palestinian civilians there — many of whom never even supported Hamas in the first place — are trapped with no power and limited supplies under an Israeli blockade.
Israel has ramped up its military efforts in the region following a heinous terrorist attack by Hamas militants that left hundreds dead and hundreds more abducted as hostages.
Biden has pledged to support Israeli's defense through the crisis.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen needled at the integrity of a reporter of Chinese descent for publishing an investigative article a month ago on his company, Pillen Family Farms, claiming “the author is from Communist China.”
The governor didn't call her out by name but the reporter, Yanqi Xu, works for the independent nonprofit news organization Flatwater Free Press.
She shot back against the comments, claiming that they were unfounded.
“I found it disheartening that it was the only thing he said,” Xu told WOWT. "I had hoped the governor would respond and that could help tell the full story in a way.
“But I was not expecting him to only address one thing: where I’m from.”
"Our history is really simple: We’ve had Japanese immigrants over 100 years ago that helped in agriculture, the railroad, and we are the most welcoming state in the country — the most pro-business state in the country, and we have products that we can compete with anybody in the world,” he said.
Then when the governor was pressed to respond to Xu's article, he claimed he hadn't read it nor was he going to.
“Number one, I didn’t read it. And I won’t,” Pillen explained. “Number two, all you got to do is look at the author. The author is from communist China. What more do you need to know?”
Xu grew up in China but attended college in the U.S., earning her master's in journalism at the University of Missouri, according to WOWT.
In a column coming to her defense, Matt Wynn, executive director the Nebraska Journalism Trust (which launched the Flatware Free Press) wrote: "This, she said, is the first time anyone has written her off based on her origin. And it was broadcast, over the air, by the governor of Nebraska."
He continued: “As an employer, that infuriates me. As a believer in democracy and a free press, it saddens me. As a Nebraskan, it embarrasses me.”
Xu told NBC News she hopes the "bias" she suffered will help raise awareness and help others rethink their assumptions.
She said: “I think it’s also super important for other Chinese Americans or other Chinese immigrants to understand that our newsroom thinks it’s not right for the governor to say something like this."
Washington (AFP) - A Dutchman who was the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of an American woman vacationing in Aruba has confessed to her murder, prosecutors and the victim's family said Wednesday. Joran van der Sloot, 36, as part of a guilty plea entered in a related case, confessed to killing Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island, they said. Holloway, 18, disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Her body has never been found. Van der Sloot pleaded guilty during a court hearing in Birmingham, Alabama, on Wednesday to attempting to extort money from Holloway's mot...
A Jewish community centre and synagogue in Berlin was hit with two homemade incendiary devices in a suspected arson attack early on Wednesday morning, causing horror and outrage among the Jewish community in the German capital. The Kahal Adass Yisroel community said that unknown attackers had thrown two Molotov cocktails from the street in the direction of their community centre on Brunnenstrasse in the Berlin district of Mitte. Two unknown hooded attackers threw the burning bottles toward the synagogue at around 3:45 am (0145 GMT) on Wednesday, according to Berlin police. The Molotov cocktail...
US President Joe Biden on a solidarity visit to Israel Wednesday backed the ally's account that Palestinian militants caused a devastating hospital strike in Gaza, adding Hamas had brought "only suffering."
"I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you," Biden said as he opened a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
"But there's a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things," Biden said.
Health authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza said the explosion killed between 200 and 300 people and was caused by the latest in a wave of Israeli air strikes.
The Israeli military blamed Palestinian militants, saying an outgoing Islamic Jihad rocket misfired and that it would provide evidence.
"We have to bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering," Biden said.
He said he was encouraging Netanyahu to ensure "life-saving capacity to help the Palestinians who are innocent and caught in the middle of this".
In announcing Biden's visit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel had agreed to work with the United States on a plan to let aid into Gaza, which has been besieged and bombarded for 12 days and under an Israeli blockade for 16 years.
Israel is threatening a ground invasion following the devastating October 7 assault by Hamas militants.
Biden said he was "proud" to visit Israel.
"I want to say to the people of Israel -- their courage, their commitment and their bravery is stunning," Biden said.
Netanyahu, who has faced domestic criticism after the deadliest attack in Israel's history, had eagerly invited Biden, who until recently had openly criticized some moves by Israel's hard-right government.
Netanyahu hailed Biden -- who has faced accusations from the rival Republican Party that he is insufficiently pro-Israel -- for paying "the first visit of an American president in Israel in a time of war".
"There's only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel and that is having you standing in Israel," Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu, opening the talks with Biden, called for global unity against Hamas.
"Just as the civilized world united to defeat the Nazis and united to defeat ISIS, the civilised world must unite and defeat Hamas," Netanyahu said.
"I can assure you, Mr. President, Israel is united to defeat Hamas and we will defeat Hamas and remove this terrible threat."
Scores of foreigners were killed, wounded or taken hostage after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7.
The worst attack in Israel's 75-year history killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, inside the country, according to Israeli officials.
Israel has responded with bombardments that have killed around 3,000 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory.
According to an AFP count, over 160 foreigners have been confirmed dead by their national authorities, many of whom also held Israeli nationality.
Some 199 people have been confirmed to have been abducted, the Israeli military said on Monday.
Here is what we know so far:
United States: 30 dead, others abducted, missing
At least 30 US citizens have been killed since the Hamas attack last week, a State Department spokesperson said Sunday. Another 13 American nationals are unaccounted for, the spokesperson said.
An unspecified number of Americans are believed to have been abducted.
Thailand: 28 dead, 17 hostages
Twenty-eight Thais have been killed, the foreign ministry said Sunday, with the circumstances unclear in some cases.
The foreign ministry said 17 are thought to have been abducted, while the number of wounded remained unchanged at 16.
About 30,000 Thais work in Israel, most in the agricultural sector, according to government figures.
France: 21 dead, 11 missing
Twenty-one French nationals have been killed, while 11 others remain missing, many of whom are "very probably Hamas hostages", according to the latest update from the foreign ministry.
Russia: 16 dead, eight missing
At least 16 Russians have been killed and another eight are missing, the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv said in an update Saturday.
At least one Russian citizen who also holds Israeli citizenship is being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, the embassy added.
Nepal: 10 dead
Ten Nepali citizens were killed in Kibbutz Alumim, the Himalayan republic's embassy in Tel Aviv said.
The kibbutz was hosting 17 students at the time of the attack.
Argentina: Seven dead, 15 missing
Argentina's foreign ministry confirmed that seven nationals had been killed and 15 others were missing.
Ukraine: Seven dead, nine missing
The foreign ministry said Thursday that the number of Ukrainians killed had risen to seven, with another nine missing and nine wounded.
Canada: Six dead, two missing
Six Canadians have died and two were missing, according to a government update on Tuesday.
UK: Six dead, 10 missing
Six Britons have been confirmed dead, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told British parliament on Monday.
Another 10 are missing, he said, some of whom are also feared to be dead.
China: Four dead, two missing
China's foreign ministry said Monday that four Chinese nationals were killed and two were missing.
Romania: Four dead, one missing
Romania announced on Saturday the death of four nationals, including an Israeli-Romanian soldier. One other Romanian is still missing.
Austria: Three dead, two missing
Three Israeli-Austrians were killed in the attacks, authorities said. Two others remain missing.
Belarus: Three dead, one missing
The Belarusian embassy in Tel Aviv said three of its citizens had died and another was missing.
Brazil: Three dead
The foreign ministry said Friday a Brazilian woman had been killed, bringing the total number of deaths to three.
Philippines: Three dead, three missing
The Philippines foreign ministry has said a 49-year-old woman was killed at the music festival.
Previously authorities said a 33-year-old woman and a 42-year-old man had been killed at a kibbutz.
Three nationals remained missing.
Peru: Two dead, five missing
Two Peruvians were killed and five missing, the authorities said.
South Africa: Two dead
The South African government announced that two of its nationals had been killed.
Australia: One dead
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday an Australian woman had been killed in the attacks.
Azerbaijan: One dead
The foreign ministry has said that one Azerbaijani national had been killed.
Cambodia: One dead
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet said one Cambodian student had been killed.
Chile: One dead, one missing
A Chilean woman has been killed, say the authorities.
A kibbutz resident has been reported missing, according to the foreign ministry.
Colombia: One dead, one missing
Bogota announced the death of one Colombian and said another was missing.
Honduras: One dead
Honduran authorities confirmed on Friday the death of one of its nationals.
Ireland: One dead
A 22-year-old Irish-Israeli woman died in the attacks, the Irish government confirmed on Wednesday.
Italy: One dead, two missing
A 65-year-old Italian-Israeli man was confirmed dead after DNA tests, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday. Two other dual nationals remained missing.
Portugal: One dead, four missing
One Portuguese national was killed and four were missing, Foreign Minister Gomes Cravinho said Wednesday.
Spain: One dead, one missing
The foreign ministry said one Spanish citizen had been killed.
A Spaniard from the Basque country, married to a Chilean woman, has also been kidnapped and is one of the hostages being held in Gaza, according to Madrid.
Switzerland: One dead
An Israeli-Swiss national was killed in the October 7 attack.
Turkey: One dead, one missing
Ankara confirmed Friday that a Turkish-Israeli citizen, who had moved to Israel with his family in 1972, had been killed.
Another was missing.
Germany: At least eight hostages
The German government reported Saturday "eight known cases" of hostages being held in Gaza by Hamas. The foreign ministry said later that each case could include several people, such as members of the same family.
Mexico: Two hostages
Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena wrote on social media that two Mexicans, a man and a woman, had been taken hostage.
Paraguay: Two missing
Two Paraguayan nationals who had been living in Israel are missing, the government said.
Sri Lanka: Two missing
Sri Lanka's ambassador to Israel said Tuesday that two nationals, a 48-year-old man and a 49-year-old woman, were missing.
Tanzania: Two missing
Tanzania's ambassador to Israel told AFP two Tanzanian nationals were missing.
A huge explosion at a Gaza City hospital on Tuesday killed hundreds of Palestinians, sparking international outrage and all but wrecking a high-stakes diplomatic mission by US President Joe Biden. Here is what we know about the deadly blast at al-Ahli hospital, which Palestinian and Israeli officials have blamed on each other.
The blast
Early on Tuesday evening in Gaza, reports emerged of an explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, which was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli air strikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on the hospital grounds.
Video footage from the hospital showed an orange ball of fire and flames engulfing the building and grounds. The video showed the outside of the hospital, where countless Palestinian families had been camping out. Torn bodies covered the grass, with slain children lying among dead adults.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a plastic surgeon working at al-Alhi, said the hospital was filled with internally displaced people seeking shelter from Israeli air strikes when he heard a loud explosion and the ceiling of his operating room collapsed.
“The wounded started stumbling towards us,” he wrote in an account posted to Facebook. He saw hundreds of dead and severely wounded people. “I put a tourniquet on the thigh of a man who had his leg blown off and then went to tend to a man with a penetrating neck injury,” he said.
The al-Ahli hospital is fully funded by the Anglican Church, which says the facility is independent of any political factions in Gaza.
Canon Richard Sewell, the dean of St George's College in Jerusalem, told the BBC it was difficult to get reliable information about what happened but he could confirm the hospital had been hit and that a "horrific number of people" had died.
Casualties
Health authorities in the Hamas-run Gaza initially said the explosion at the Ahli Arab Hospital had killed between 200 and 300 people, while a Hamas statement put the provisional death toll at around 500.
A Gaza civil defence chief gave a death toll of 300, while health ministry sources in the Hamas-run territory put it at 500. Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra said the death toll was likely to rise further as rescuers pulled bodies from the rubble.
Ambulances and private cars rushed some 350 casualties to Gaza City’s main hospital, al-Shifa, which was already overwhelmed with wounded from other strikes, said its director, Mohammed Abu Selmia. Doctors in the overwhelmed hospital resorted to performing surgery on the floor and in the halls, mostly without anesthesia.
“We need equipment, we need medicine, we need beds, we need anesthesia, we need everything,” Abu Selmia said. He warned that fuel for the hospital’s generators would run out within hours, forcing a complete shutdown, unless supplies enter the Gaza Strip.
Israel, Palestinians trade blame
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry promptly blamed an Israeli air strike, and said it killed at least 500 people. Israeli authorities soon after denied involvement, blaming a misfired rocket from the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad – which in turn denied the claim.
On Wednesday, an Israeli military spokesperson told journalists that there was no structural damage to buildings around the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital and no craters consistent with an air strike. The spokesperson accused Hamas of inflating the number of casualties from the explosion and said it could not know as quickly as it claimed what caused the blast.
Asked to explain the size of the explosion at the site, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said it was consistent with unspent rocket fuel catching fire. "Most of this damage would have been done due to the propellant, not just the warhead," the Israeli spokesperson said.
Hagari added that some 450 rockets fired from Gaza had fallen short and landed inside the strip in the last 11 days. The Israeli military also released a recording they said was between two Hamas militants discussing the blast, during which the speakers say it was believed to be an Islamic Jihad misfire and that the shrapnel appeared to be from the militant group’s weapons, not Israel’s.
Islamic Jihad dismissed Israel’s claims, accusing Israel of “trying hard to evade responsibility for the brutal massacre it committed".
The group pointed to Israel’s order that Al-Ahli be evacuated and reports of a previous blast at the hospital as proof that the hospital was an Israeli target. It also said the scale of the explosion, the angle of the bomb’s fall and the extent of the destruction all pointed to Israel.
Diplomatic fallout
The bloodshed unfolded as the US was trying to convince Israel to allow the delivery of supplies to desperate civilians, aid groups and hospitals in the tiny Gaza Strip, which has been under a complete siege since Hamas’s deadly rampage last week.
Outraged over the hospital blast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II announced they were pulling out of a planned Arab summit Wednesday with President Joe Biden, who arrived in Israel earlier in the day. The White House and Jordan's government announced within hours of the attack that Biden’s meeting with Arab leaders was off.
As he opened a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Biden said he backed Israel's account that Palestinian militants had caused the devastating hospital strike in Gaza.
"I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you," Biden told the Israeli leader. "But there's a lot of people out there not sure so we have to overcome a lot of things."
Condemnation
Jordan and fellow Arab nations swiftly condemned the hospital attack, or declared days of national mourning, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the incident as "the latest example of Israeli attacks devoid of the most basic human values”. In Lebanon, the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement called for a "day of rage against the enemy", blaming Israel for what it called a "massacre".
EU chief Charles Michel said that targeting civilian infrastructure in Gaza breaks international law, while French President Emmanuel Macron called for humanitarian access to the coastal strip "without delay", adding that "nothing can justify targeting civilians". Speaking in Cairo, where he stopped for talks on Wednesday after a visit to Israel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "horrified" by the hospital blast and called for a "thorough investigation of the incident".
British Foreign Minister James Cleverly urged people to wait for the facts instead of jumping to conclusions. "Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail."
As Russia and the United Arab Emirates called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting to discuss the hospital blast and the worsening humanitarian situation, the UN's human rights chief Volker Turk called the hospital strike totally unacceptable, insisting that the perpetrators must be held to account.
"Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital," he said. "This is totally unacceptable."
Protests erupted in several Arab cities and in the occupied West Bank, with demonstrators directing their anger at Israeli or Western interests.
In Beirut, protesters roamed the city on motorcycles and gathered outside the French embassy and a UN facility, in protest against the international community’s response to the civilian deaths in Gaza. Throngs of Jordanians also gathered outside the Israeli Embassy in Amman.
There were angry protests outside the French embassy in Tunisia late on Tuesday, with protesters accusing France and the US of siding with Israel and demanding the recall of both countries' ambassadors.
Scuffles also broke out outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul, where protesters burned debris and clashed with Turkish riot police.
The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, said Tuesday it has started charging new users in New Zealand and the Philippines for basic features such as posting messages in a trial aimed at reducing spam.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who bought Twitter last year for $44 billion, has long complained about fake accounts, bots and spam on the platform, introducing a number of controversial changes that have been sharply criticized by users around the world.
Under the trial, named "Not A Bot", new users in New Zealand and the Philippines will have to pay an annual fee for the ability to write on X, like and reply to posts, and bookmark content.
"This new program aims to defend against bots and spammers who attempt to manipulate the platform and disrupt the experience of other X users," the company said on its website.
"It is not a profit driver," it said in a separate post on X. "So far, subscription options have proven to be the main solution that works at scale."
It added that existing users will not be affected by the model, which will cost around $0.75 per year for new users in the Philippines and $0.85 for those in New Zealand.
Those who decline to pay will be able to access X in read-only mode, limited to viewing content and following accounts, the company said.
"Anything that a platform does to protect their users from the harm they might experience is a step in the right direction," said NetSafe, an independent online safety charity in New Zealand.
"Whether trying to stop bots from contacting people indirectly, that might engage in harmful conversations, or taking steps to verify who its users are... those things are potentially useful in trying to reduce harm."
But Jonathan de Santos, chair of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said this would limit participation.
"We get that the program is meant to curb the use of bots, but this also seems like putting the burden of fighting misinformation and disinformation on users," he said.
Musk in September suggested charging all X users, saying it was the only way to combat the spam and bots that plague the platform.
But the idea was widely panned by users. Industry analysts said it would make X even less appealing to advertisers.
After taking over the company, the billionaire sacked thousands of staff and drew criticism for allowing banned conspiracy theorists and extremists back on the platform, sending advertisers fleeing.
Musk said in July that X had lost roughly half its ad revenue.
A month earlier, he had claimed that almost all advertisers had returned and that 90 percent of bots had been removed.
Lang Lang, one of the world's most influential classical artists, says that musicians must always act as a "bridge" between cultures, but even more so during times of crisis.
Speaking to AFP after an intimate performance at the Steinway piano showroom in Manhattan, the 41-year-old renowned pianist said "every musician is an ambassador for their own culture."
"When you're a performing artist you play a lot of different works from different parts of the world, and it's almost like a bridge, bridging the cultures," he said.
"I think every musician has the responsibilities to share the different heritage through their music."
Born in northeastern Shenyang in 1982, the globe-trotting performer became famous playing the great romantic composers.
He's brought that sensibility to Disney, as the entertainment conglomerate that revolutionized the animation industry celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Lang Lang last year released an album of songs based on Disney classics -- "The Disney Book" -- as well as a companion special that's streaming on Disney+.
And recently he introduced a "Steinway X Disney" limited edition piano handpainted with the likeness of Mickey Mouse.
Lang Lang said a benefit of partnering with Disney is bringing more classical music to the ears of young people.
"A lot of the time people ask me to play 'Frozen,' to play 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight,'" he said, citing themes from the animated classic "The Lion King" and the more recent phenomenon about a kingdom trapped in perpetual winter.
He said part of his goal is to make versions of those popular songs "exceptional" and in the mold of "Chopin or Lizst -- this level of piano that romantic composers will do."
Lang Lang said the "deep emotion" that music can evoke allows it to "unite people's hearts."
"Music is quite powerful," he said. "When you listen to music, you get a lot of different types of feelings. Whether it's happy, whether it's sad, or sentimental, in a way that you get a whole world, a range of emotions."
He also lauded the power of live performance, which for years was set back by the coronavirus pandemic, saying that artists performing onstage is "kind of like visual art and performing arts combined."
"Whether it's moving hands or moving the body and facial expression, it's very moving in a way," he continued. "A great performance always moves your heart."
Asked if he had any concern over AI -- whose use in music has been the subject of controversy and debate throughout the industry, with some pointing to copyright abuses -- Lang Lang brushed off the concern.
"It's not easy to create another Beethoven," he said.
Ligue 1 side Nice suspended Algerian international Youcef Atal "until further notice" on Wednesday after he shared a controversial post on social media linked to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Even though he quickly deleted the post and apologized, the club said in a press release that, given the "seriousness" of the post, it was taking immediate disciplinary action "prior to any action that may be taken by the sporting and legal authorities".
French prosecutors on Monday launched a preliminary investigation into Atal on suspicion of "glorifying terrorism".
Atal, 27, was called into a meeting with the club hierarchy following his return from international duty with Algeria, during which period he made the post.
"We would like to emphasize that the reputation and unity of OGC Nice depends on the behavior of all of its employees, who must be in accordance with the values defended by the institution," said the club, adding its "firm commitment to ensuring that peace prevails over all other considerations".
Atal has been widely criticized since Saturday for sharing a video from a Palestinian preacher on Instagram, purportedly calling for violence against Jewish people.
Football officials, politicians, a Jewish group and the mayor of Nice have all condemned the message, which Atal deleted before apologizing.
AFP has not been able to independently verify the content of the original post.
France, which has large Jewish and Muslim populations, ramped up security after Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel on October 7.
And officials put the country on high alert for potential attacks after a teacher was stabbed to death on Friday by a former pupil, in what politicians have said was Islamist terrorism.
The Nice prosecutor's office confirmed in a statement it was investigating Atal under laws covering the "glorification of terrorism" after being notified by local politicians.
The prosecutors said police would also assess if the post amounted to incitement to religious hatred or violence.
The South East branch of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France (CRIF) filed a complaint against the player on Tuesday.
The French Football Federation (FFF) has not commented since saying on Sunday its ethics committee would investigate the player.
Atal responded to the criticism, telling his Instagram followers he would "never support a message of hate", without explaining why he had shared the video.
US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as Middle East anger flared after hundreds were killed when a rocket struck a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians quick to trade blame.
Biden has expressed "iron-clad" support for Israel in its war against Hamas over the bloody October 7 attacks and was welcomed on the tarmac by 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 president Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
The Palestinian Islamist militant movement Hamas said that an Israeli air strike destroyed the Gaza clinic, while Israel said a misfired rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad group had hit the Ahli Arab Hospital.
Between 200 and 300 people died, according to Gaza health authorities, while Hamas put the toll at more than 500 dead. Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian accounts could be independently corroborated.
Shortly before Biden landed, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari told a press conference that "evidence -- which we are sharing with you all -- confirms that the explosion at the hospital in Gaza was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket that misfired".
"Our radar system tracked missiles fired by terrorists in Gaza at the time of the explosion and the trajectory analysis of the rockets shows the rockets were fired in close proximity to the hospital."
Middle East anger over the 12-day-old Gaza war, which has already killed thousands, has reached new heights after the hospital bloodshed, and protests against Israel were called in cities across much of the Arab and Muslim world.
Biden has strongly backed top ally Israel and its military campaign -- retaliation for the killing of 1,400 people who were shot, mutilated or burnt to death in shock cross-border attacks launched by Hamas on October 7.
Israel's campaign to destroy Hamas and try to rescue 199 hostages from the besieged and blockaded territory 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 (25-mile) long strip that has been blockaded since 2007 by Israel and Egypt.
"The situation in Gaza is spiraling out of control," UN World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "We need violence on all sides to stop."
Hospital carnage
On the ground in Gaza, the blast at the Christian-run hospital brought new chaos and suffering Tuesday night, as the dead were pulled from the rubble and the wounded were rushed to nearby medical centers.
Scores of bodies cloaked in blood-stained sheets and white plastic wrap soon lined the floors at the nearby the Al-Shifa hospital, where stunned and bereaved relatives tried to identify loved ones.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society said hundreds died including women, children, staff and "internally displaced people seeking safe shelter".
Ghassan Abu Sittah, a doctor with the charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), recounted that "we were operating in the hospital. There was a strong explosion and the ceiling fell on the operating room".
"Hospitals are not a target," he said. "This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough."
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby represents the Anglican church, which runs the Ahli Arab Hospital.
He said the hospital was one of several medical facilities in northern Gaza subject to evacuation orders and that it had already been hit by "Israeli rocket fire" on October 14, which wounded four staff.
According to World Health Organization figures, there have been more than 100 attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other health care assets since October 7.
News of the hospital's destruction brought swift international condemnation.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said "responsibility for this crime must be clearly established" and the "perpetrators held accountable".
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" and warned Israel against "the collective punishment of the Palestinian people".
'Day of Rage'
Across the region, the response was quick and furious as protesters tried to storm the Israeli embassy in Jordan, a country home to millions of Palestinian refugees.
In Lebanon, demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the US embassy. Stones were hurled and a building was set on fire.
The US State Department authorized the departure of "some non-emergency" personnel from the Beirut embassy, citing the "unpredictable security situation",
In Lebanon, Hezbollah vowed a "day of rage" on Wednesday, one of many countries across the region where street protests were expected.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the cancelled four-way summit in Amman would be held "when the decision to stop the war and put an end to these massacres has been taken".
The White House confirmed late Tuesday that Biden's visit would go ahead to Israel, where he was expected to express solidarity over the Hamas attacks, in which 31 Americans were among the dead.
The attacks were the deadliest in Israel's 75-year history, carrying painful echoes of past pogroms and undermining faith in the country's security services.
The United States and Israel have been at pains to try to deter Israel's declared enemies -- chiefly Iran and its Lebanon-based ally Hezbollah -- from escalating the conflict.
Biden was also expected to press for steps to minimize the huge humanitarian impact of Israel's military response on civilians and allow aid to enter the besieged Gaza Strip.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Biden would ask Netanyahu "tough questions" about the path ahead.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on the West to join forces in defeating Hamas after the massacre by the Palestinian extremist organization on October 7 had shown the group's "sheer evil." Meeting with US President Joe Biden in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, the Netanyahu said "the civilized world must unite to defeat Hamas," comparing the militant organization which rules the Gaza Strip to the Nazis and the Islamic State (IS) terrorist network. Hamas has committed the worst crimes in Israel, Netanyahu said. Women have been raped, soldiers beheaded and children murdered, he added. ...
By Patricia Zengerle, Steve Holland and Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden may consider a supplemental request of about $100 billion that would include defense aid for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, multiple sources familiar with the request told Reuters on Tuesday. Biden has been widely expected to ask Congress to pass a supplemental spending bill within days, as Washington responds to the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants while looking to continue to support Ukraine as it grapples with a Russian invasion. The news broke as Biden prepared to depart fo...
A view of the inside of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City after Tuesday's deadly blast. © Reuters stringer
People gather around bodies of Palestinians killed in the strike on al-Ahli hospital in central Gaza after they were transported to al-Shifa hospital on October 17, 2023. © Dadwood Nemer, AFP
Bodies of Palestinians killed by an explosion at the al-Ahli hospital are gathered in the front yard of the al-Shifa hospital, in Gaza City, on October 17, 2023. © Abed Khaled, AP