Biden lands in Israel for high-stakes meeting with Netanyahu after hospital explosion

President Joe Biden has landed in Israel to start a one-day trip that will see him meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of his unity war cabinet and Israeli opposition leaders amid an escalating humanitarian crisis and the imminent ground invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Defence Forces.

Mr Biden, who departed Washington late Tuesday aboard Air Force One, touched down at Ben Gurion Airport at around 10.50am local time.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on board the presidential aircraft that Mr Biden’s itinerary in Israel would be “confined to Tel Aviv” and would start with a sit-down with Mr Netanyahu “in a very small restricted bilateral meeting” that would later expand to include more members of his team and members of the Israeli war cabinet.

The president will also meet separately with Israeli first responders to thank them for “bravely putting themselves in harm’s way in response to these Hamas attacks,” and with family members of Israelis and Americans who lost their lives in the 7 October Hamas attacks, as well as the families of Israelis and Americans who’ve been taken hostage by the militant group.

Mr Kirby also said Mr Biden would make public remarks during his visit to Tel Aviv, as well as meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

“He wants to get a sense from the Israelis ... about the situation on the ground. And more critically, their objectives, their plans, their intentions in the days and weeks ahead. And he’ll be asking some tough questions. We’ll be asking them as a friend — as a true friend of Israel — but he will be asking some questions of them,” he said.

The National Security Council spokesperson added that Mr Biden would also “make clear” that the US wants to see the ten day-old conflict “not widen, not expand, not deepen” and stressed that the US wants to deter “any actor” from attempting to escalate the conflict.

He further explained that Mr Biden would “address the humanitarian situation in Gaza” and make clear that the US wants to see “sustained food, water, ... electrical power, medicine, all the things that the people of Gaza are going to continue to need,” as well as address the issue of the ongoing hostage crisis with his Israeli counterparts.

Mr Biden had initially been set to remain in Israel for less than a day before flying to Amman, Jordan for meetings with Abdullah and Mr El-Sisi before returning to Washington.

Although he had also been set to attend a planned meeting with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, Mr Abbas announced that he would not meet with the US president after what had initially appeared to be an attack on a Gaza hospital by Israeli forces.

Israeli Defence Force sources have said the hospital was hit by a rocket after a botched launch by Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants.

Mr Kirby said Mr Biden had planned to use the meetings with Arab leaders to “reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people's right to dignity and self determination” and discuss “the humanitarian needs of all civilians in Gaza”.

But following Mr Abbas’ announcement that he would not participate in the planned summit, the White House said the president’s planned Jordan leg of the trip would be put off to a later date following talks with the Jordanian leader.

“After consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt,” a White House official said in a statement.

The official also said Mr Biden had “sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza” as well as his wishes for “a speedy recovery to the wounded”.

“He looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon, and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days,” the official added.

Mr Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, said Mr Biden had been “looking forward” to meeting with both men in their capacities as “key leaders here in this conflict between Israel and Hamas,” but stressed that the president had spoken to both by phone and intended to do so again after leaving Israel.