|By Sehubo Festus
Palestinian leader Abbas cancels meeting with Biden. A senior Palestinian official has said that Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the State of Palestine, has canceled his Wednesday-scheduled meeting with Biden. This move follows Abbas’ withdrawal from a conference in Amman, Jordan, due to an alleged Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital.
Abbas was scheduled to meet with Biden alongside King Abdullah of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt. According to the Associated Press source, the official spoke anonymously because the cancellation has not been officially announced.
An Israeli Defense Forces official has denied any involvement in an attack on a hospital in central Gaza, according to an NBC News report. The spokesman noted that hospitals are rarely thought of as IDF targets because they are viewed as extremely sensitive buildings.
The situation is presently being investigated by the IDF, with a focus on ensuring accuracy. The spokeswoman also advised reporters reporting a terrorist organization to act with caution.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, an Israeli airstrike that struck a hospital in central Gaza resulted in the deaths of at least 500 people, as reported by the AP.
The AP claims that if verified, the Israeli airstrike would be by far the bloodiest since 2008.
According to NBC, a spokesman for the Palestinian Health Ministry Ashraf Al Qudra stated that the incident claimed the lives of over 500 people.
He put the number of deaths between 200 and 300. When Al Qudra made his statement it was uncertain.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, stated that inquiries are ongoing about the claims of an Israeli airstrike against a Gaza hospital.
“There are a lot of airstrikes, a lot of failed rockets, and a lot of fake reports by Hamas,” Hagari said according to a Times of Israel report.