Biden 'deeply saddened by the explosion' at hospital in Gaza

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he is "deeply saddened by the explosion" at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza which left hundreds of people dead.

"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted," said Biden in a statement.

He said he spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the news and directed his "national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened."

"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy," he added.

Earlier, Biden offered "his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded."

More than 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told Anadolu.

Footage on social media showed corpses scattered across the hospital grounds.

According to an Anadolu reporter, thousands of Palestinians were at the hospital when the building came under bombardment.