What we know
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President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel for a high-stakes trip that comes after a deadly Gaza hospital blast fueled protests across the Middle East and threatened to derail diplomatic efforts.
Speaking before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden said that "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 who are not sure." His planned meeting with Arab leaders in Jordan was canceled after the hospital blast.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 471 people were killed in what it called a "targeted" Israeli bombing of al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in central Gaza. Israel said the blast was caused by a misfired rocket from a Palestinian militant group.
The situation for civilians in Gaza is growing more desperate as Israel continues its airstrikes while aid has yet to make it into the blockaded strip. More than 3,400 people have been killed and more than 12,500 have been injured in Gaza. In Israel, 1,400 people have been killed and 3,500 wounded.
Hamas has expressed a willingness to release some captives, with a senior Hamas official telling NBC News that the group is willing to release all civilian hostages immediately — within an hour — if Israel stops its bombing campaign of Gaza.
NBC News’ Lester Holt, Tom Llamas, Richard Engel, Raf Sanchez, Kelly Cobiella, Josh Lederman, Matt Bradley, Ellison Barber, Chantal Da Silva and Alexander Smith are reporting from the region.
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