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'IT WASN'T YOU'
Biden says hospital blast that ‘killed 500’ was NOT Israeli missile but ‘the other team’ as he lands in wartorn country
US President Joe Biden said the explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of people was not an Israeli missile - but was carried out by "the other team."
Biden arrived at the wartorn country this morning to show his support amid mounting tensions and met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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The US President told Netanyahu that he was "sad and outraged" by the deadly explosion at the al-Ahli Hospital but said it appears to have been done "by the other team."
It comes after Israeli military forces released evidence - including drone footage and audio from a wiretapped phone call which it claims proves a terrorist group caused the explosion.
The blast was originally reported as an Israeli airstrike - but Jerusalem has denied it in the strongest possible terms.
And they have instead blamed Islamic Jihad - another terror group in Gaza which is distinct from Hamas.
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Islamic Jihad issued a statement also denying it was to blame for the massacre.
Biden added that Hamas brought "only suffering" to Palestinians and said 31 Americans were among the more than 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas's rampage on October 7.
"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've got a lot we've got to overcome a lot of things," Biden said.
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Netanyahu thanked Biden for his "unequivocal support" while President Isaac Herzog reportedly told him: "God bless you for protecting the nation of Israel."
The US President was also scheduled to visit Jordan after stopping in Israel.
But the meetings were called off after the hospital explosion- that according to Palestinian officials killed at least 500 people.
It comes as:
- The strike at the hospital in Lebanon
- Chilling images show the house where a Brit girl was killed by Hamas
- A Hamas top terror commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike
- Europe is on terror alert after Belgium and France attacks
- The Mum of an Israeli hostage begged the world "help bring my baby home" after sickening video of her in captivity
- Iran warned Israel it will be "eradicated" after pre-emptive strike threat
Israel has since cast doubt on the death toll claimed by Hamas.
A harrowing photo shows a group of doctors surrounded by the bodies of dead children following the blast.
Blood-soaked sheets covering a huge pile of victims could be seen across what was left of the hospital's grounds, as witnesses say the "smell of bodies" now hangs in the air.
"The hospital was full of dead and wounded, dismembered bodies, and dead," said Dr Fadel Naim, Head of the hospital's Orthopedic Surgery Department.
In a chilling account posted to Facebook, Dr Abu Sittah wrote: "We now know that the number of killed exceeds 500.
"This number will increase as I saw many dismembered bodies and parts of bodies as I carried the last patient into the ambulance past the courtyard.
"The number of children who were killed exceeds 50 per cent.
"I saw a body of a toddler who was missing a head".
Horror footage shows the strike sparking a fireball in the sky while both sides blamed each other's forces for the hit.
IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said: "We are running on it because someone is doing a fake on us, on Israel."
But a spokesman for Islamic Jihad - a group which claims to be fighting Israel alongside Hamas - said this is "completely incorrect" and accused the IDF of "trying to cover for the horrifying crime and massacre they committed".
Israel took the step of releasing drone footage which claims it shows the lack of craters or damage to buildings shows it was not one of their weapons.
They allege the fatal blast was the result of a failed rocket launched by Islamic Jihad.
And in shocking retaliation, The Israel Defense Force released a recording from a wiretapped phone call between two Hamas operatives - who appeared to blame Islamic Jihad.
They wrote: "Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza - the IDF did not.
"Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves".
The audio recording begins with the first Hamas operative saying: "I'm telling you this is the first time that we see a missile like this falling".
A second militant responds: "And so that's why we are saying it belongs to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad".
The first speaker says: "What?, before the other replies: "They are saying it belongs to Palestinian Islamic Jihad".
"It's from us?" asks the first Hamas operative, to which he is met with the response: "It looks like it."
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Speaking about the strike, Former British army commander Richard Camp said there's "no doubt" the IDF did not carry out the attack and described Israel's evidence as "pretty compelling" before adding he "wouldn't trust" casualty figures produced by the terror group.
He told The Sun: "In my experience, the IDF does not deny doing something of this sort if they do do it.
"There have been incidents in the past, where they've accidentally caused large numbers of civilian casualties, and in each case, when that's happened they have admitted and explained why it happened
"I don't think there's in my in my opinion there's no doubt that the IDF did not carry out this attack."
Camp added: "There's a huge public interest in something like this, which is apparently a mass casualty event- although I wouldn't trust the casualty figures produced by the Hamas.
"The Gaza medical authorities are controlled by Hamas, and the figures they produce, very often are false, very often exaggerated.
"They very often attribute to the IDF casualties that have been called by their own people."
Meanwhile, Iran threatened Tel Aviv that the "time is up" last night while Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, vowed a "day of rage."
The attack at the hospital sparked outrage with protesters in Jordan trying to storm the Israeli embassy while in Lebanon demonstrators clashed with security forces outside the US embassy.
On the ground in Gaza, there were scenes of chaos as the dead and wounded were taken to nearby medical centres after the airstrike.
At the Al-Shifa hospital, scores of bodies cloaked in blood-stained sheets and white plastic wrap lined the floors.
Ghassan Abu Sittah, a doctor with the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said: "We were operating in the hospital. There was a strong explosion and the ceiling fell on the operating room.
"Hospitals are not a target. This bloodshed must stop. Enough is enough."
The IDF said analysis of operational systems indicated that the Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation is responsible.
In a statement, the force said a "barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit".
A spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry said: "Two hundred to 300 displaced people killed in occupation (Israeli) strikes on the yard."
"Hundreds of victims are still under the rubble. The hospital was housing hundreds of sick and wounded, and people forcibly displaced from their homes."
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly urged people not to rush to judgment over the Gaza hospital tragedy amid the rival claims.
Mr Cleverly promised the UK will work with allies "to find out what has happened and protect innocent civilians in Gaza".
He said: "Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at al Ahli hospital.
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"Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk.
"Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail."
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