More than 500 killed in Gaza hospital due to airstrike, US President cancels meet with Arab leaders

A massive explosion on October 17 at a hospital in Gaza City killed at least 500 people, many of them women and children. The Israeli Defence Force said that a missile misfired by a Palestinian terrorist organisation damaged the hospital, while Hamas accused the Israeli forces behind the air strike. The incident took place on the eve of US Vice President Joe Biden's visit to Tel Aviv to reaffirm US support for Israel.

Biden will arrive in Israel today, amid an escalating conflict scenario in the aftermath of a hospital bombing in Gaza that killed at least 500 people. Biden will "reaffirm solidarity" with Israel during his wartime visit. Meanwhile, Jordan has cancelled a regional gathering it had planned to organise in response to the Gaza hospital bombing.

The US President talked with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the way to Tel Aviv, and he was also updated by his national security staff "following reports of the terrible loss of life" in the hospital incident, according to the White House.

In response to the hospital attack, Jordan's foreign minister announced the postponement of a regional conference with Biden slated for Wednesday in Amman. The president of the United States was scheduled to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

On Tuesday night, a bomb exploded at a hospital in Gaza City, killing at least 500 people and injuring many more. While Hamas claimed the explosion was triggered by an Israeli airstrike, Tel Aviv blamed it on a Palestinian terrorist organisation.

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