Good afternoon. Youre watching cnn news central. Im Boris Sanchez alongside Brianna Keilar In Washington With Destruction on full display in the house of raptives as President Biden is preparing for a wartime visit to israel. His trip, partly a show of support, part deterrence for israels enemies and part diplomatic push to get roughly 200 hostages, many of them american, out of gaza as they also attempt to get humanitarian relief in. Right now gaza is very much at a breaking point. A Palestinian Health official says hospitals there are in actual collapse and that was before the latest devastation. These are images that are disturbing that youre seeing right here. A hospital that was hit in gaza a short time ago. The Palestinian Health Ministry Says at least 200 people were killed by an israeli air strike. Israel is not confirming that this was a strike by its military. It says that it is looking into this. Lets get you on the ground now. Cnns Clarissa Ward who is in ashkelon, israel,
This is cnn breaking news. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. The hour, the chaos on capitol hill. The Republican House dysfunction continues as the fight for a new speaker of the house continues to sputter after republican representative jim jordan failed to get enough votes. The house has recessed, at least for the time being. Leading right now, another tragic turn in the war in israel and gaza. Hundreds of people have been killed by an explosion at a hospital in gaza, according to the Palestinian Health ministry, these images youre seeing show fires raging with an Ambulance Feed away inside the hospital we see images of devastation with this blurred image of a dead body in a hallway. Its the Al Ahli Baptist hospital in the center of gaza city which reportedly was Housing Hundreds of those already injured by airstrikes. Perhaps many more seeking shelter from the strikes. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the west bank declared three days of mourning for the victims.
This conflict alone, and in the last conflict in may 21, we had the same amount, roughly the same amount of rockets fired and rockets that landed short inside the gaza strip. I remember clearly an event that was reported live on fox where he was standing inside gaza and the reports that came out was of an israeli strike which is the Knee Jerk Response around the world and he reported that he saw with his own eyes a rocket that misfired and landed in northern gaza. I think it was jabalia and caused casualties and the death of a palestinian family. So this is not unprecedented. It has happened many times in the past and it is do youcument and for those willing to listen and not to automatically blame israel for it there is ample truth of the fact that this has happened many times before, granted, not a hospital and not so many casualties, but the fact of the matter is rockets misfire and land in gaza and they have been doing so for years. We have been careful about our reporting and cert