• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Thu, 19 Oct 2023 07:13 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Israel-Palestine War: US President Joe Biden has announced financial aid worth USD 100 million for the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank amid the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hamas. The Gaza Strip has been under constant bombardment as part of Israel's counteroffensive in response to Hamas' October 7 onslaught in Israeli territory in which over 1,400 people were killed and nearly 200 others were abducted.

"I just announced $100 million for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank. This money will support over 1 million displaced and conflict-affected Palestinians. And we will have mechanisms in place so this aid reaches those in need – not Hamas or terrorist groups," the US President said in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and held a joint press conference with him on the latest escalation of hostilities in the Middle East. During the presser, Biden told Netanyahu that the "evils" perpetrated by the Palestinian militant outfit made "ISIS look somewhat rational".

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"On Oct 7 Hamas murdered 1400 Israelis in a single day...October 7th, is another day that will live in infamy. Mr President, you rightly said that Hamas is worse than ISIS. The civilised world must unite to defeat Hamas," Netanyahu said in response to the US President's remarks.

Biden was scheduled to embark for Jordan after concluding his visit to Israel. However, the US President's planned stop at Amman was cancelled after Jordan called off a quadrilateral summit that was to be hosted by the country's monarch, King Abdullah.

The meeting was set to see the participation of Biden, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. It was cancelled following the bombing of a hospital in the Gaza Strip in which 500 people, including children, were killed on Tuesday.

(Scenes from the Al Ahli Arab hospital in the Gaza Strip after an explosion struck the medical facility on Tuesday. Pic Credits: Reuters)

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Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the meeting would be held at a time when the parties could agree to end the "war and the massacres against Palestinians" and blamed Israel with its military campaign for pushing the Middle East to "the brink of the abyss".