What’s known about the deadly blast at a Gaza hospital

There are a lot of conflicting claims as to what happened, so we're going to go slowly through what's known, and point out where accounts and accusations differ. Palestinian officials say the hospital was hit by an Israeli airstrike. It was in an area that the Israeli military had told civilians to evacuate, an order that the WHO called "impossible" for the hospital to carry out, given the critical condition of many patients and lack of alternatives.

Israel says the hospital was hit by rocket fire from Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group that's smaller than Hamas. Israel says its radar detected rockets firing from inside Gaza at the time. Islamic Jihad says those claims are false, that the angle of the strike and the scale of the destruction point to an Israeli attack.

The deadly explosion and waves of new civilian deaths come as President Biden is taking meetings in the region. He touched down in Israel today, as planned. But in the wake of the hospital blast, Jordan canceled a planned summit that would've included Biden and Arab leaders in the region, from Jordan, Egypt, and the Palestinian Authority, a group separate from Hamas.

Earlier, Biden said he was, quote, "outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion." After arriving in Israel, Biden acknowledged that many people weren't sure what happened, but that he has reason to believe Israel was not responsible. His administration has spoken about the need for all sides to protect civilian life, but also consistently supported Israel's right to retaliate in Gaza for Hamas's October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians.

One phrase you might be hearing a lot more of, especially in the wake of the hospital blast, is "fog of war." That is, the initial uncertainty about important facts in the midst of conflict. In this case, with the Israeli government and Palestinian militant groups blaming each other, an independent assessment of the damage to the hospital is needed to determine responsibility.

Even if there's eventually consensus about the deadly blast, the blame being traded right now is already having a wider effect. Protests are breaking out across the Arab world, with demonstrators blaming Israel for the hospital deaths. The regional situation is much more tense and dangerous than when the White House originally planned Biden's trip. The visit was intended to show American support for Israel. It was also to ease tensions in the region, work with Arab leaders, and open up the possibility of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, and evacuating Americans who are still trapped there. But the latest deadly events make Biden's mission much harder.

Israel has historically swapped Palestinian prisoners to release hostages, sometimes releasing hundreds of Palestinians per Israeli captive set free. But "Bloomberg" reports that there have recently been some questions inside Israel about this policy. Some think Israel has given away too much to get Israeli prisoners home. And in some cases, detainees who were set free went on to take up arms against Israel. One prisoner released in 2011 was Yahya Sinwar, now a top Hamas commander. Israel believes that he planned the October 7th attacks. He's now a leading target for Israel's military.

And in Georgia, state investigators are looking into the death of Leonard Allan Cure, a Black driver shot by a deputy in a traffic stop. Cure once spent 16 years behind bars for a Florida crime he was ultimately exonerated for in 2020. The Innocence Project of Florida says Cure had been doing well since his release, with plans to attend college.