Biden arrives in Israel for high-risk visit during protests after explosion in Gaza hospital

US President Joe Biden arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday (18) to begin an extraordinary high-risk trip to Israel, amid protests following the deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital, while Israeli and Palestinian officials exchanged accusations about who was responsible for the attack.

The explosion marks a dangerous new phase in Israel’s war with Hamas, which threatens to have repercussions at a regional level.

With his visit, Biden seeks to demonstrate firm support for Israel as the country works to eliminate the radical Islamic group Hamas, while also pushing for ways to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza.

Canceled meetings

Biden’s complex diplomatic mission to the Middle East was supposed to calm the region and reinforce humanitarian efforts for Gaza, but after the attack on a Gaza hospital killed hundreds of Palestinians on Tuesday night (17), Jordan canceled a summit planned with Biden, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv ahead of President Joe Biden’s visit.

The US president’s arrival in Israel this Wednesday will continue Blinken’s seven-nation, multi-day trip to the Middle East, as the US tries to strike a delicate balance between providing unwavering support for Israel’s military operations while at the same time , mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and prevent the war from spreading to other fronts.

Blinken returned to Israel from Amman, Jordan.

Israelis around Tel Aviv were excited about Joe Biden’s visit and looked forward to the support of the “superpower,” as one resident described it.

(With input from CNN’s Colin McCullough and Reuters’ Janis Laizans and Nuha Sharaf)

Source: CNN Brasil

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