For the aide� s arrival. Israel earlier said it wont get in the way of food, water, and medicine getting to civilians, as long as the assistance does not reach hamas. Mr biden says there are a few more things that need to happen before the aid can come in. This has been a very blunt negotiation i have had. And so want to get as many of the trucks out as possible, i guess there are about 150 there. Not all will go. The first tranche, if there is a second tranche we will see how it goes. Lets look at some of the other top headlines from the war at this hour protests across the middle east erupted over the explosion at the Al Ahli Hospital in gaza, tuesday, that left at least a71 people dead. Arab states and the main palestinian militant group, hamas, have continued to blame israel for the explosion, even as mr biden backed israels claim that it had nothing to do with it. And the United States vetoed a Un Security Council vote calling for humanitarian pauses in gaza, a move that was condemned by other members, including russia, china and the uae. Our international editor, jeremy bowen, has more on the day on the ground. And a warning his report contains distressing images. A carpark outside the Al Ahli Hospital became a killing ground. The arguments about whos responsible come too late for the people whose lives ended here. Even with their bodies taken away, the clean up this morning also meant collecting small pieces of flesh. God have mercy, he said, they were civilians. And muhammad, a neighbour, cant unsee children with legs blown off and the bodies he helped to carry. They all, he said, thought theyd be safe near a hospital. Early this morning at the Defence Ministry in tel aviv, the military presented data it said proved israel did not attack the hospital. Instead, they said, it was a Malfunctioning Rocket fired by palestinian islamichhad. The Trajectory Analysis from the barrage of rockets confirms that the rockets were fired in close proximity to the hospital. According to our intelligence, hamas checked the reports, understood it was an Islamic Jihad rocket that had misfired and decided to launch a Global Media Campaign to hide what really happened. They went as far as inflating the numbers of casualties. Coming to tel aviv was a gamble for President Biden. He wanted to ease gazas humanitarian catastrophe while supporting israels war effort, perhaps an impossible circle to square with israels leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. But a deal emerged from their meeting food, water and medicine, but no fuel, from egypt to gaza. For israel, more military aid and agreement that they didnt hit the hospital. And based on what ive seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. I wanted to personally come and make that clear. Thank you for having me, and im looking forward to having a thorough discussion about where everybody goes from here. The president wont change the minds of those who insist Israel Attacked the hospital. Joe bidens presence here will only deepen the conviction among palestinians and millions of other arabs that america isntjust on israels side but that its also complicit in Everything Israel is doing in gaza, including killing civilians. Until the hamas attacks on israel, President Biden dreamt of transforming the middle east. The americans were negotiating with saudi arabia and israel, to try to get the two countries to recognise each other. That is not on the agenda any more. Grief is crushing the families of gazas dead. Israel was warned byjoe biden not to be consumed by rage, while in gazas shifa hospital, a father was saying goodbye to his dead children in a corridor thats been turned into a mortuary. A waiting room for the grave. Jeremy bowen, bbc news, in israel. It was against that backdrop that President Biden arrived in tel aviv, to meet with israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr biden is the most high profile us politician to visit the warzone of course, but hes not the only one to visit israel in recent days. A Bipartisan Group of senators has just returned from a trip to israel where they met with Prime Minister netanyahu and his war cabinet. I spoke to one of the senators on that trip, republican bill cassidy of louisiana. Thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. You have just returned with a bipartisan delegation from a visit to israel. Can you tell us what you witnessed, what you learned there . Well, we met with both Prime Minister netanyahu and his war cabinet. We met with in a separate meeting with general galante, a separate meeting with president hertzog and then a separate meeting with benny gantz, and then lastly, with Family Members, american israelis with Family Members who have been taken hostage. From all of them, a sense of grief, a sense of shock, of disappointment that people were not kept safe. Now for the political and the military leaders, there was a resoluteness that they were going to address this, secure the border with gaza strip, they were going to protect against any incursions by hezbollah. From the Family Members, they were unfortunately buffeted by events and there is an incredible sense of tragedy, but they still were hopeful. Illjust say this. One woman said it is hard to imagine the good news is that you hear although your son has lost an arm, and is being held hostage by hamas in gaza, the good news is that hes alive, and i think that kind of summarises the pathos of the situation. Senator, we just saw the president have a rare wartime visit to israel where he reaffirmed the us� s support for israel. What you think the message he delivered on the trip, and he will also be speaking to the nation about the war thursday evening . The message is that the United States stands with israel and we stand against terrorism, and there is no one better to convey that message than the president. We did it as five senators and he did it again as president. By the way, going back to the families who have Family Members taken hostage, one of them expressed an incredible disappointment that their government had not kept them safe, but said that they were looking to the United States to kind of be that big brother who is going to support them, even if they felt as if their own government had not done itsjob. Now im just almost directly quoting what they said, so when the president goes there and expresses support, i can imagine the emotional impact it has upon many who have been so terribly and emotionally assaulted. There has been criticism of the us� s role in not pushing enough on behalf of the citizens in gaza at the moment, and President Biden did work with egyptian president al sisi to allow 28 trucks into gaza. Egypt now say there will be a sustainable aid corridor. Our correspondents say that aid will be of little help because the hospitals need fuel right now. Should the us be doing more to support civilians in gaza . We have to recognise that there is a limit to what the United States or anyone can do. It requires the cooperation of the egyptians, the israelis and hamas, so we can propose but others have to permit, and if we think that we, the United States, can go in there and just dictate, in a chaotic situation, people have the wrong perception. I will point out by the way, let me say this as an aside, in our meeting with the israelis were all asking that the United States help to make sure humanitarian aid gets into gaza. They were asking for that. Which i think says something for the israelis who were differentiating hamas from the palestinians. From the palestinian people. As far as the us role is, we should push for whatever we can do to bring humanitarian aid in, understanding that israel will have Security Concerns about some of what that aid might be. Weve spoken to multiple experts who have said that the israeli aim to eradicate hamas from gaza will be militarily difficult, politically perhaps impossible. Since you met with the Prime Minister and the war cabinet, as you said, what did they share about what israels plan might be going forward, particularly for gaza . The only person i asked permission to quote was benny gantz but they all said about the same thing. But gantz said at the end of this that there may be some guy wandering around with an ak 47, but that their Military Leadership and operational leadership will be crushed. So if you view hamas as an ideology, yes, the ideology will persist. You know, wipe out israel, kill all thejews, but if you want to view it as an operational and military organisation, it is israels intent to crush it. Whether they can, we shall see, but they are resolved to do so. There were large protests at the capitol today including a jewish Group Calling for the end of israeli bombing of gaza and advocating for a ceasefire. What is your message to those protesters . We have to put that in perspective. When 3,000 americans were killed in 9 11, if someone said to the americans dont go after 0sama bin laden, dont go after afghanistan which is housing the fellow, we wouldve said you have to be kidding me. They killed 3,000 americans. If you take the small population of israel, and they lost 1,300, and you extrapolate it up to the 330 million of the United States with the same proportion of civilians, itd be 30,000 to 40,000 americans killed. Looking at what happened in 9 11, 3,000 died, we were going to go after those people that did it. Imagine if 35,000 had died. I think you have to recognise that from the israeli viewpoint this was an unforgivable assault upon their people and they cannot have safety for their people wherever their people live, as long as hamas is committed to killing all thejews. You have that perspective, you have their perspective, you can understand why they are conducting this operation. We will have to leave it there. Thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news tonight. Thank you, sumi. To give us context of what the assistance will look like for those in gaza and the west bank, my colleague Caitriona Perry spoke to ghaith al 0mari, former political advisor to the Palestinian Authority and current Senior Fellow at the washington institute. He celebrated the aid deal. First of all is definitely a very important development. People and gaza do need those basic necessities. I think this is a triumph for us diplomacy at the end of the day it was President Biden who pushed for it. And also a triumph for egyptian diplomacy that has been very insistent and frankly very firm when it comes to this issue. It is a great first step but as we all know the need for more than 2 million Palestinian Civilians in gaza need to be met. The gaza strip was already in a bread by humanitarian situation, it is teetering on the edge. More is needed but this is definitely a welcome first step. This is definitely a welcome first step this is definitely a welcome first ste. , �. , first step. President biden was also due to first step. President biden was also due to meet first step. President biden was also due to meet arab first step. President biden was also due to meet arab leaders| also due to meet arab leaders at that summit injordan. Why was i cancelled . At that summit in jordan. Why was i cancelled . Was i cancelled . Basically, after the was i cancelled . Basically, after the tragic, was i cancelled . Basically, after the tragic, tragic after the tragic, tragic incident yesterday at Al Ahli Hospital in gaza, the amount of anger in the palestinian street, in thejordanian street, in thejordanian street, in the arab street, was such that it was not time for diplomacy. We saw major demonstrations injordan in demonstrations in jordan in front demonstrations injordan in front of the Israeli Embassy and elsewhere. And i think the sense was given the grief, given the emotion, the time might not be good. Certainly, people like let us like a bus, king abdullah, president cc, also dont want to be vulnerable to attacks from the opposition saying you are sitting with the americans were so pro israel while our people are dying. So there was basically the political environment made it impossible. When you mentioned there that the us is seen to be so pro israel, is that the view that people will now come away with after President Bidens trip today . The us has said from day one that the us fully support israel. This is a strategic relationship. It is based on both the depth of relationship, but also, american perception that this attack is part of a larger regional dynamic, whether it is the iranian involvement, orthe whether it is the iranian involvement, or the attack impacted other american interests, the saudi israeli deal, etc. The us is clearly supporting israel. This is a fact. This comes with benefits for the us but also comes with liabilities particularly in terms of the United States. Around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. Lets get more on the news that british Prime Minister rishi sunak is on his way to israel. Hell arrive there in the morning as part of a two day trip to the middle east. According to downing street, he is expected to hold meetings with israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and president isaac herzog before travelling to a number of other regional capitals. As our Political Editor chris mason explains, mr sunak� s message will be that conflict must not become a catalyst for further escalation of violence in the region. Downing street says rishi sunak will express his condolences for the terrible loss of life in israel and gaza as a result of her must� s brutal Terrorist Attacks thomass. Hamas. Especially those that want to leave as quickly as possible. As well as making the argument in israel and elsewhere in the couple of days that the violence and the anger in the middle east must be contained as much as possible. Youre live with bbc news. While President Biden met israeli leaders in tel aviv, People In Gaza were collecting bodies at the Al Ahli Hospital, trying to identify hundreds of victims of tuesdays explosion. Palestinians say it was an israeli air strike. The bbc has so far not seen any evidence that definitively proves what caused the blast. But israel has blamed an errant palestinian rocket. Health officials tonight in gaza say a71 people were killed in the Hospital Blast on tuesday. 0ur reporter in gaza, rushdie abualouf, has been to the site. And a warning you may find some of the images in his report distressing. When i arrived at the hospital this morning, they were still collecting the dead after what looks to have been the deadliest moment we have seen so far in gaza. There were burnt out cars after a huge fire following last nights blast. I was talking to one of the people who witnessed this what the palestinians are calling a massacre. He said that they were just sitting in their garden peacefully, and suddenly, a huge explosion rocked this area. He said, we collected bodies, injured people. We evacuated serious injuries using a motorcycle. Some people evacuated on foot, he said, from there to shifa hospital. Blood soaked mattresses lay on the ground. As we picked our way through the devastation, beds scattered and wreckage. Childrens backpacks and collapsed tents where people had been sleeping. Doctors told us thousands were seeking shelters at the hospital when it happened. Eyewitnesses said the Hospital Grounds were packed with People Living under siege and under fire. People are still collecting body pieces from on the ground. People are still in panic. People are still trying to understand what happened. Fear, grief and anger. Translation my message to the world stand up for the right thing dont be afraid of the americans dont be afraid of the Israeli Air Forces we will continue this fight until the last drop of blood Health Officials here are saying hundreds are dead, injured and missing. This is a moment of horror for palestinians already traumatised by this war. Rushdi abualouf, bbc news, gaza city. To other news now. Us congressmanjim jordan has failed in his second bid for house speaker. 22 of his fellow republicans voted against him thats two more than in the first vote. Jordan is hoping to replace former speaker Kevin Mccarthy who was ousted two weeks ago. Mrjordan says he will not drop out of the race and his team indicated that a third vote could happen on thursday. For more on this, i spoke earlier with robert costa from cbs news. Bob, great to have you back in the studio. What happens now . This is a crisis moment for house republicans. They have to figure out what are they going to do . Congressman jim jordan of ohio has not met the necessary threshold in the first two ballots on the floor of the house of representatives. He has decided to spend the night talking to his colleagues, trying to get to that number, but the tensions are high among republicans. So many of the moderate members in the house feel threatened byjordans allies and supporters on the right wing of the Republican Party in that trump orbit, and because of that, they are not moving towards jordan tonight. So he is either going to drop out of the race or find some magic way to get there politically. Are there any other candidates who could have a chance . So many are waiting right now on the shores of this Speakers Race, trying to see, doesjordan stay in or not . Politically, jordan is popular so no one wants to push him out of the race, they want it to be his own decision, but you could have some emerge as a potential consensus speaker. Someone like Patrick Mchenry, the republican from North Carolina. He is currently serving as a speaker pro tempore, which is an interministerial position to oversee the Speakers Race. But because republicans cant come together on a candidate, there is a push tonight to have Patrick Mchenry from North Carolina serve as either the speaker of the house as a Consensus Pick or to have his powers expanded so they can pass legislation on funding for israel and Government Funding in just a few weeks. Yeah, i want to talk about what is at stake here because the Biden Administration we have seen is drafting a 100 billion aid package that includes assistance for israel and ukraine, that congress would have to sign off on, and right now they cant. And jordan, as the speaker candidate, is facing all of these challenges tonight because President Biden and his administration are seeking is 100 million Spending Package to deal with all of these package. Jim jordan is known as someone who likes to cut spending and because of that, so many of the more traditional republicans, the appropriators inside of the house are looking for guarantees from jordan that he will not try to subvert these new Appropriation Requests in any way that this typical Spending Hawk will not be a typical spending he win the speakers gavel. He has to make reassurances, in a sense, weakening his political position on spending so he can ultimately get to that position of power. Meantime, the former president always has a role to play in all of this. He has been commentating both on the Speakers Race and the war between israel and hamas. Can you tell us what he has been saying about all of this . Notably, trump has kept his hand out of the Speakers Race beyond his endorsement ofjim jordan, sojim jordan has the Political Capital of a trump endorsement that has given him a boost certainly in the speaker race, but trump is now preoccupied his advisor tell me with his ongoing legal channels especially with what is happening in new york, the civil trial about his finances, he has been accused of fraud. The trump 0rganization, his long time company, also being accused of fraud. He is sitting in the courtroom voluntarily in new york because he wants to defend his reputation and his company for the because of that, his attention is in new york, it is not In Washington on the Speakers Race, and i have asked trump advisers will they do anything forjim jordan, and they say he might, but for now, it isjordans race to win on his own. The contrast of that as President Biden returning from a Whirlwind Trip to israel, the latest pbs newshour poll shows that if the 2024 president ial election were held today, joe biden and donald trump would be statistically tied. What do you think we should make of those numbers . There is real concern among democrats about President Bidens poll numbers. For now, he does not have any significant primary challenge. Marion williamsons running, Robert F Kenneder decided not to run the democratic nomination, now running as an independent. Dean phillips, a democratic from minnesota, has talked about possibly running against biden for the nomination, he is a wealthy democrat from minnesota, pretty moderate, centre of the road in his views, though he has not made a final decision on whether to get to this race. So many democrats, even though they are worried about the poll numbers, they believe he ultimately is the best candidate to take on donald trump should the former president become the republican nominee. Always great to talk to you. Thank you for your analysis tonight. Thank you. Now, the battle for the us speaker role wasnt the only drama on capitol hill today. As we were discussing earlier, hundreds of protesters swarmed the Us Capitol Complex here In Washington, dc on wednesday, demanding an immediate ceasefire in gaza. Our partners at cbs news report that some 300 people have been arrested. And it wasnt just washington that saw protests hundreds of people joined a demonstration in beirut organised by the Lebanese Group hezbollah. Security forces using tear gas and water cannon to control protesters demonstrating near the us embassy. Protests also erupted in iran, jordan, the west bank and turkey on wednesday, amid widespread anger over the hospital explosion, and the ongoing violence. We will be continuing our coverage of the war and its impact across the region on our website bbc. Com news or the bbc news app. We have a live page up there. We have all the details from President Bidens trip to israel, and well be covering Prime Minister rishi sunak� s two day visit to the middle east, including his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a few hours. Check out the app and website there. Stay with us here on bbc news. Thats all from us here In Washington. We leave you with these pictures of london as we hand off to our colleagues there. Stay with bbc news. Hello there. Well, storm babet continues to push northwards across the uk. Its impacts are likely to be felt for much of the rest of the week. In fact, the Met Office Hasissued its highest level of alert. Its a rare red warning in force for rain, valid from 6 00 on thursday evening right through until midday on friday. Its for northeastern areas of scotland, Parts Of Angus and southern aberdeenshire. The totals are really going to start to stack up. The rain is quite widespread across the uk as we head through the rest of the week, but nowhere more so than across northeastern areas of scotland, where there could be as much as two months worth of rainfall by the time we get to the end of the day on friday around 200 250mm of rain. And that heavy rain is moving northwards this is storm babet, of course. The winds are strengthening out towards the east coast of scotland. Gusts of wind here of around 70mph. The winds lightening towards the south. Its turning drier, here it is. A mild start to the day but, of course, the temperatures are largely academic. And so, that rain will continue to push northwards as we head through the morning. Sunshine and showers, some of the showers possibly heavy and thundery across england and wales. The rain will start to turn very heavy, very persistent. It aligns with that strong Southeasterly Wind as we head through the day on thursday and it willjust keep coming as we come into thursday night and friday morning itself. So, that Southeasterly Wind driving more rain, acting as a kind of conveyor belt. And there are wider Amber Weather Warnings in force across scotland as well, another one for rain across caithness and sutherland, and this one is for wind too. Now, with that brisk Southeasterly Wind, its not the prevailing wind direction, so there could be some trees down, likely to be some impacts from these strong, gusty winds. But this, of course, is of most concern within the red warning area. Now, there could be some extensive flooding, possibly some deep, fast flowing floodwater, maybe some structural damage as well. Some very tricky travelling conditions as well, so dangerous for travel. And then, we see a second area of low pressure. Thats just going to enhance the rainfall a little further, i think, on friday. But then, as that low pressure builds through, we still see these gusty winds out towards the east coast. The focus of that rain will tend to be across central areas of england, down through parts of wales and particularly the southeast of england as we head towards the end of the day. Still very windy for eastern coasts, but at least the Rain Lightens across scotland. Do keep tuned for the forecast. Voiceover this is bbc news. We will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. Welcome to hardtalk. Im stephen sackur. Presumably President Joe Biden flew to the middle east because he believed he could achieve something positive in the midst of the war between israel and hamas. But by the time he landed in israel, the plan to go on to meet arab leaders was off, amid the fallout from a deadly blast at a gaza hospital, the disputed circumstances of which have further heightened anger and the fear of what comes next. My guest is Us Democratic Party Congressman adam smith. How does the us navigate its multiple interests at this time of maximum danger . Congressman adam smith, In Washington, welcome to hardtalk
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.