Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday thanked Joe Biden for standing with Israel "today, tomorrow, and always" as he welcomed the US President in Tel Aviv amid ongoing war with Hamas. Biden arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday after US State Secretary Antony Blinken visited the country last week.
"For the people of Israel, there is only one thing better than having a true friend like you standing with Israel and that is having you standing in Israel," Netanyahu said, adding, "Your visit here is the visit of an American President in Israel at the time of war."
"It is deeply moving...I know I speak for all the people of Israel when I say - thank you Mr President, thank you for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always," he added.
Biden, who visited a day after a City Hospital in Gaza was struck by airstrike killing over 500 people, gave Israel a clean chit telling Netanyahu that the explosion have been done "by the other team, not you," according to AP. While Palestinian government held Israeli Defence Forces responsible for the attacks, the IDF blamed Hamas for the attacks.
the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Wednesday claimed in a post that the incident was the fallout of a “failed rocket launch” by Islamic Jihad terrorist organisation.
“The trajectory analysis from the barrage of rockets confirms that the rockets were fired from close proximity to the hospital. In addition there are two independent videos which show the failure of the rocket launched and continuation of rocket flight towards the ground in the Gaza Strip falling in the hospital compound,” an IDF official said.
Earlier in the day Biden condemned the attacks saying he was "outraged" and "deeply saddened" by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza.
Since the October 7 surprise attacks by Hamas on Israel, Biden has been constantly voicing support to Tel Aviv upholding its "right to defend" against the attacks.