New Delhi: President Joe Biden’s planned trip to the Middle East was thrown into disarray after a strike on a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of Palestinians on Tuesday. The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah both called off a meeting with Biden, who was supposed to attend a summit in Amman with Egyptian and Palestinian leaders. Biden, who was scheduled to visit Tel Aviv and Jordan for a one-day trip, will now only go to Israel, the White House said as the president was heading to the airport.
“The president conveyed his deepest sympathy for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and hoped for a quick recovery for the injured,” news agency Reuters quoted a White House official as saying. Biden “is looking forward to talking in person” with Egyptian, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders soon and will “stay regularly and directly in touch with each of them in the next few days.”
Gaza authorities blame Israel’s military for the hospital bombing; Israeli authorities deny any involvement in the strike, which happened during a massive Israeli attack on the enclave and killed about 500. Biden left Washington Tuesday on what was supposed to be a complicated diplomatic mission, aimed at showing support for long-time U.S. ally Israel, calming the region and boosting humanitarian efforts for Gaza.
It was not clear what he could achieve after the hospital strike, conflicting reports about who was responsible, and the cancellation of the summit in Jordan. “This kind of unclear but terrible event makes diplomacy harder and increases the risk of escalation,” said Richard Gowan, U.N. director at International Crisis Group. “Biden’s visit was meant to show that the U.S. has control over the situation. A tragic incident like this shows how hard it is to keep the war under control.”
Biden was originally expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, then fly to Amman, to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Abbas. Failing to meet with Abbas or any Palestinian official, while meeting Israelis on their land, may weaken Biden’s diplomatic message and draw critics at home and abroad. The U.S. is relying heavily on Egypt to help with humanitarian efforts.
After the hospital blast, Biden’s efforts so far in the Israel-Hamas war were attacked by U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress.
Tlaib, a Democrat who had previously been quiet in her criticism of Biden’s policy, said in a post on social media platform X, “This is what happens when you refuse to help with a ceasefire & de-escalate. Your war and destruction only approach has opened my eyes and many Palestinian Americans and Muslims Americans like me.”
More than 70 religious and activist groups, led by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest U.S. Muslim civil rights group, urged Biden to demand a ceasefire in Gaza during his visit.