More air strikes on Gaza today as aid remains stuck in Egypt; He told Israeli forces to be “prepared” for the invasion

Israeli Air strikes on Gaza This continued a day after President Biden visited Tel Aviv and offered his strong support to the country’s leaders and people as the Jewish state grapples with the fraught realities of its war against Hamas militants. Tension in the region It was still rising Thursday due to continuing Israeli attacks on Gaza — and conflicting accounts about what happened at Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday night, where Palestinian officials say an explosion killed hundreds of people.

American and Israeli officials, including Mr. Biden, He said Wednesday This evidence indicates that the explosion was caused by a missile launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement that did not reach its target, but many in the region still blame this massacre on the Israeli army.

Protests erupted across the Middle East in the wake of the deadly explosion, including in Tunisia, Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon and Morocco. In demonstrations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said Israeli forces shot and killed two teenagers. The Israeli army said it was studying the report.

Mr. Biden has supported Israel’s right to crush Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip for nearly two decades, but he urged Israelis not to be drawn into anger, warning that decisions made in wartime without careful consideration would lead to mistakes. .

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant visited ground forces gathered near the border with Gaza and asked them to “organize and prepare” to receive an order to move, although he did not say when the expected invasion would begin.

Speaking from the Oval Office On Thursday evening, Biden said he would send on Friday “an urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs, to support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine.”

Mr. Biden also said: “We must condemn anti-Semitism unequivocally. We must also condemn Islamophobia unequivocally.”

Biden secured a commitment from Israel to stop bombing the area around Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip so that much-needed humanitarian aid can flow into the Strip for the first time since Israel imposed a full blockade on October 7.

But it remained unclear Thursday when the border would be opened, and instead of aid, Israeli missiles were still reaching Gaza’s two million residents. A residential building a few meters from Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City was bombed on Wednesday, prompting medical staff and civilians to flee to take shelter inside.

As of Thursday, health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza say Israeli raids have killed nearly 3,800 people and wounded nearly 12,500 others, the majority of them women and children. This number includes more than 470 people said to have been killed Hospital explosion, which Israel denies causing.

In Israel, officials say the Hamas attack killed about 1,400 people and injured 3,500 others.

The US State Department said on Thursday that the death toll includes 32 Americans, and 11 American citizens are still missing. A US State Department spokesman said that efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas remain “ongoing.”

CBS News will air a one-hour special titled “The War Between Israel and Hamas: The World on the Brink” on Friday, October 20 at 10 PM ET on CBS and on CBS News Streaming. Download the CBS News app on your mobile phone or connected TV to watch.