President Joe Biden in Israel for high-stakes wartime visit – live

President Joe Biden told Benjamin Netanyahu that it appears that the explosion at a Gaza hospital was done “by the other team”, Rachel Sharp reports.

Speaking alongside the Israeli Prime Minister in Tel Aviv, he said that he was “deeply outraged and saddened” by the incident, which has resulted in hundreds of deaths.

“I’m deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. 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 not sure, so we have to overcome a lot of things,” he said.

Israel has blamed the Palestinian Islamic Jihad for the hospital attack. The PIJ has denied involvement while Hamas has blamed Israel.

He added: “We have to also bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people, and has brought them only suffering.”

The Israeli Defence Forces have published an audio clip allegedly between two Hamas militants suggesting that a misfired rocket was responsible for the hospital explosion in Gaza.

Some more footage is posted below appearing to show the aftermath of an explosion in the Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital.

Up to 500 people are feared dead in the explosion, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf called for an independent investigation into the bombing of a Gaza hospital, calling it a “complete and utter human tragedy”, Adam Forrest reports.

Scotland’s first minister told BBC Breakfast there needs to be an “honest broker” in the Middle East to end the “perpetual cycle of violence” and secure peace between Israel and Palestine.

Mr Yousaf also said that his family were “just torn apart with worry” as his wife’s parents – still stuck in Gaza – struggle with low supplies.

He added: “Yesterday an Israeli missile hit a house across the road from my mother-in-law and father-in-law’s house and it shattered every window… broke all the mirrors and gave them a real fright. And so my mother-in-law told me she just didn’t sleep a wink last night with worry.”

Biden says Hamas has “committed evil atrocities that make Isis look somewhat rational”, Chris Stevenson reports.

“We have to also bear in mind that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people, and has brought them only suffering,” he added.

“I’m deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. 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 not sure, so we have to overcome a lot of things.”

Netanyahu thanks the US for its support during these “trying times”. Chris Stephenson reports:

He said:”I want to thank you for coming here today and for the unequivocal support you have given Israel during these trying times. The support that reflects the overwhelming will of the American people.

“I’ve seen your support every day and the depth and breadth of cooperation that we have had since the beginning, a level of cooperation that is truly unprecedented in the history of the great alliance between our two nations.

“We see that support and your steadfast commitment to provide Israel with the tools we need to defend ourselves. We see that support in the clear message you send our enemies not to test our resolve, and in the two American carrier battle groups that you send to the region to back up those words, with action but above all, Mr. President, the world sees that support and the moral clarity that you have demonstrated from the moment Israel was attacked.

“You rightly drew a clear line between the forces of civilization the forces of barbarism and describe what commands do a sheer evil.”

Family members of US government personnel and non-essential embassy staff were allowed to leave Lebanon after the embassy in Beirut was targeted by protestors who started a fire at the complex.

Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu shared an embrace after the US president arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport earlier this morning.

The two leaders will hold talks about the escalating war between Hamas and Israel, with Biden expected to reiterate Washington’s support for Israel while calling for civilians to be protected.

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.

Pope Francis deplored the “desperate” situation in Gaza on Wednesday as he urged the faithful to take “only one side” in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the side “of peace.”

Speaking during his weekly audience in St Peter’s Square, Francis did not mention the deadly Gaza hospital strike, for which Israelis and Palestinians are blaming each other.

“War does not solve any problem, it only sows death and destruction, increases hatred, multiplies revenge. War erases the future,” he said.

“I urge believers to take only one side in this conflict, that of peace, but not with words but with prayer and total dedication,” Francis added.

The pope pleaded for all possible efforts “to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe”, and announced special prayers for peace in St Peter’s Basilica at 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) Oct. 27.

He said Oct. 27 would be a “a day of fasting, prayers, penance”, and invited all Christians, followers of other religions and those who care for world peace to join in.