“I understand. Many Americans understand,” Biden said, likening the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US that killed nearly 3,000 people.

“You can’t look at what has happened here … and not scream out for justice. While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice we also made mistakes,” Biden said.

The US president’s visit to Israel came after hundreds of people reported killed in an explosion at a Gaza Strip hospital. There were conflicting claims of who was responsible for the blast. Hamas quickly blamed an Israeli airstrike, while Israel denied involvement and released a flurry of video, audio and other information that it said showed the blast was instead due to a missile misfire by Islamic Jihad, another militant group operating in Gaza. However the Islamic Jihad dismissed the claim.

Earlier, Biden claimed data from Pentagon showed it was not likely a strike by the Israeli military. “Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting. But he said there were “a lot of people out there” who weren’t sure what caused the blast, which sparked protests throughout the Middle East.

Biden also said Israel has agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt. Earlier, Israel had cut off the flow of food, fuel and water to the Gaza Strip following the deadly attack by Hamas killing nearly 1,400 Israelis.

Israel has agreed to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance of civilians in Gaza, based on the understanding that there will be inspections and the aid will go to civilians and not to Hamas, ” Biden said, adding that the US was working with partners to get “trucks moving across the border as soon as possible”.

Biden also announced an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza and the West Bank.

Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 and has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. Gaza Health Ministry said that 3,478 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,000 injured in the past 11 days. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.

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Updated: 18 Oct 2023, 11:39 PM IST