Israel-Hamas war Highlights: Gaza blast stirs protests in Middle East & Washington

Egypt has consented to the reopening of its border crossing with the Gaza Strip, permitting aid to reach Palestinians, according to the U.S. The humanitarian crisis in the narrow enclave has worsened, and anti-Israel protests have erupted across the Middle East.

In the wake of an explosion at Gaza's Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital on Tuesday, the region has remained unstable. Palestinian officials alleged that the blast, which claimed 471 lives, was the result of an Israeli airstrike.

Labelling Hamas as a terror organisation like 'no other,' Israel's permanent representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has said that the attack carried out was "barbaric and a widescale terror attack in decades, even bigger than 9/11."

"Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and American President Joe Biden have agreed on the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah terminal," said presidential spokesperson Ahmed Fahmy in a statement.

Sunak is to land early Thursday, holding meetings with Israeli PM Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog, before heading to other regional capitals.

Protesters staged anti-Israel rallies around the Middle East on Wednesday, some of them turning violent, to voice rage at an explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinians at a hospital in the deadliest incident inside Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.

Chicago Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CJP) and other pro-Palestinian groups held emergency protests to condemn the Israeli bombing of a Palestinian hospital in Gaza.

A large group of protesters have taken over inside the US Capitol. Access to US Capitol, restricted after arrests at Gaza ceasefire protest. Watch visuals

US President Joe Biden spoke with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt. The two leaders discussed ongoing coordination to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza and mechanisms to ensure the aid is distributed for the benefit of the civilian population. The two leaders agreed to work together closely on encouraging an urgent and robust international response to the UN’s humanitarian appeal: The White House said in a statement

U.S. President Joe Biden will make an address regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict and the war in Ukraine on Thursday evening at 2000 ET (0000 GMT on Friday), the White House said on Wednesday.

The courtyard of al-Ahli hospital, where thousands of Palestinians had sought shelter or medical treatment, is now a blackened expanse of charred cars, stretchers coated in ash and shredded dolls.

That’s all that remains after an explosion on Tuesday turned it into an inferno, tearing apart men, women and children, and burning people alive. Images of the aftermath ignited protests across the region, threatening to broaden the war between Israel and Hamas.

“There is no right to commit massacres in international law. Israel is perpetrating massacres in Gaza every single day. For over ten days now, you have witnessed it killing entire families, bomb shelters, schools, hospitals, residential buildings and convoys...” Riyad Mansour said at the UN Security Council

Jewish groups held a protest at the US Capitol on Wednesday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Irish government announced Wednesday an immediate humanitarian aid package of 13 million euros ($13.7 million) to the Palestinians while calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday calling for a "humanitarian pause" in the raging Israel-Hamas conflict as the text did not recognize Israel's right to defend itself, the US ambassador said.

President Joe Biden on Wednesday said that Israel had agreed to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing into Gaza from Egypt, with the understanding that shipments would be subject to inspections and that aid should go to civilians and not Hamas militants.

Biden said he had spoken with the Israeli cabinet “to agree to the delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance of civilians in Gaza, based on the understanding that there will be inspections and the aid will go to civilians and not to Hamas.”

President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Israel told senators Wednesday that he would “ensure Israel has what it needs to defend itself” and would work with the U.S. ally to end the attacks by Hamas if he were confirmed.

Thousands demonstrated in Greece's capital Athens on Wednesday on the Israel-Hamas war -- including the country's first small pro-Israel public gathering since the start of the conflict.

Police said some 10,000 people responded to a call by Communist-affiliated labour unions in solidarity with the Palestinian people, one of several held this month.

On Wednesday, Israel announced its decision to permit Egypt to deliver restricted amounts of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, marking the initial breach in a 10-day blockade on the region. The devastating explosion at a Gaza City hospital, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds the day prior, placed an enormous burden on Gaza's medical professionals as they grappled with dwindling medical resources.

Jordanian police on Wednesday said several anti-riot police were injured during clashes that broke out with rioting protesters near the Israeli embassy, who were torching property.

The authorities had earlier deployed riot police to disperse thousands of demonstrators planning to march on the heavily fortified Israeli embassy to protest against Israel's military assault against Gaza.

The Israeli embassy, where protesters gather daily, has long been a flashpoint of anti-Israel protests at times of turmoil in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Late on Tuesday, dozens of youths attempted to storm the heavily guarded compound but security forces used tear gas to disperse them. Several protesters were arrested.

Two attack drones targeting American and allied forces in Iraq were shot down early Wednesday without causing casualties, a US defense official said.

The official did not say who launched the drones, but pro-Iranian forces have threatened to attack American troops in Iraq because of Washington's support for Israel in its war with Hamas.

"An attempted attack against US and coalition forces in Iraq was disrupted" early on Wednesday, the US official said, referring to the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group.

"Two one-way drones were shot down in the attack. There were no injuries to any forces during the attempted attack," the official added, without specifying who downed them.

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Facebook-owner Meta Platforms on Wednesday introduced temporary measures to limit "potentially unwelcome or unwanted comments" on posts about the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Meta said it will change the default setting for people who can comment on new and public Facebook posts created by users "in the region" to only their friends and followers, Meta said in an updated blog post.

A Meta spokesperson declined to specify how the company defined the region. Users can opt-out and change the setting at any time, Meta said.

White House says current assessment is Israel was 'not responsible' for Gaza hospital blast; still collecting evidence

The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution Wednesday that would have condemned Hamas’ attacks against Israel and all violence against civilians and urged humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 votes in favor, the United States against and two abstentions.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that President Joe Biden is in the region engaging in diplomacy “and we need that diplomacy to play out.” She also criticized the resolution for not saying anything about Israel’s right to self-defense.

Before the vote on the resolution sponsored by Brazil, council members rejected two Russian amendments, one calling for a “humanitarian cease-fire” and the other condemning indiscriminate attacks on civilians and “civilian objects” in Gaza, which include hospitals and schools.

Brazil holds the Security Council presidency this month and its U.N. mission said the vote would be followed by an emergency meeting to discuss Tuesday's huge explosion and fire at a Gaza City hospital packed with patients, relatives and Palestinians seeking shelter. The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 500 died.

AP

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday renewed commitment on an elusive goal of creating a Palestinian state even as he offered robust support to Israel after the October 7 attacks.

"As hard as it is, we must keep pursuing peace, we must keep pursuing a path so that Israel and the Palestinian people can both live safely in security and dignity and in peace," said Biden.

"For me, that means a two-state solution," he said as he closed a solidarity visit to Israel.

Israel-Hamas war LIVE: Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's office says it will allow Egypt to deliver humanitarian aid to besieged Gaza Strip.