US President Joe Biden has said an explosion that killed hundreds in a hospital in Gaza appears to not have been caused by Israel but “by the other team”.
“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Mr Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Tel Aviv.
“But there’s a lot of people out there who are not sure, so we have got to overcome a lot of things.”
“The world is looking. Israel has a value set like the United States does, and other democracies, and they are looking to see what we are going to do,” he added.
Mr Biden said he was “sad and outraged” by the strike in Gaza which killed up to 500 people – triggering worldwide protests.
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Gaza City hospital blast caught on camera
Hamas called it a “crime of genocide” and has blamed it on Israel.
Israel has denied any involvement and said the blast was caused by a misfired rocket – launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group.
However, it too has rejected responsibility for the explosion.
It happened just before the US president arrived in Israel on Wednesday on a desperate diplomatic mission to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiralling into a broader regional conflict.
He said Washington would provide Israel with everything it needs to defend itself against the militant faction of Hamas.
Mr Netanyahu thanked his US counterpart for his “unequivocal support”.
The US leader is in Tel Aviv to show Israel the US’s support for its war against Hamas.
However, the second half of his visit to the Middle East – a summit between himself and Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian leaders in Amman, which would have focused on getting humanitarian assistance into Gaza while working towards calming tensions in the region – was cancelled following the bombing.
The fireball that engulfed the al Ahli hospital delivered some of the most harrowing images yet from the ongoing 12-day war.
About 350 casualties were rushed from the blast site to Gaza City’s main hospital, al Shifa, already overwhelmed with those injured from other strikes, said its director, Mohammed Abu Selmia.
Israel’s military released what it claimed was evidence – including drone footage and an intercepted conversation – which it said proves an Islamist militant group was responsible for the bombing and not an Israeli airstrike.
It has not been possible to independently verify the audio recording published by the Israeli military of “communication between terrorists talking about rockets misfiring”.
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IDF release ‘hospital attack audio’
It is the deadliest single event of the Israel-Hamas war so far.
After Mr Biden backed the Israeli account, other Western leaders also called for caution.
“Last night, too many jumped to conclusions around the tragic loss of life at Al Ahli hospital,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Getting this wrong would put even more lives at risk. Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately.
“Cool heads must prevail,” he added.
Protests have ignited across the Middle East following the explosion, with hundreds of people taking to the streets in cities in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and in the West Bank – where there have been clashes with police.
FBI agents have boarded a boat managed by the same company whose cargo ship crashed into a Baltimore bridge and caused it to collapse.
The two companies in charge of the ship “recklessly cut corners” and ignored electrical problems on the vessel before the crash in March, alleged the US Justice Department on Wednesday.
Three days later, FBI agents boarded the Maersk Saltoro, a second ship managed by the same company, although authorities did not offer further details on the operation.
Six construction workers were killed when the Dali ship had a power outage and crashed into a support column on the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The Justice Department alleged that mechanical and electrical systems on the massive ship had been improvised and improperly maintained which led to the power outage.
Authorities are seeking to recover more than $100 million the government spent to clear the underwater debris and reopen the city’s port, which was only fully reopened in June.
It could become the most expensive marine casualty case in history and the two Singapore-based companies, Synergy Marine Group and Grace Ocean, are trying to limit their legal liability.
The Justice Department said it will vigorously contest that limitation, arguing that vessel owners and operators need to be “deterred from engaging in such reckless and exceedingly harmful behaviour”.
Darrell Wilson, a Grace Ocean spokesperson, confirmed that the FBI and Coast Guard boarded the Maersk Saltoro in the Port of Baltimore on Saturday morning.
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Mr Wilson has previously said the owner and manager “look forward to our day in court to set the record straight” about the Justice Department’s lawsuit.
The Dali, which was stuck amid the wreckage of the collapse for months before it could be extricated, departed Virginia on Thursday afternoon en route to China on its first international voyage since the March 26 disaster.
The style choices of politicians have long been scrutinised by voters and the media.
Women have historically been subject to more inspection for their looks than men.
But all politicians are communicating through their style, according to two experts.
“We receive most of our information, many of us, through screens and through the visuals,” says Hazel Clark, professor of design and fashion at the Parsons School of Design in New York.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris has been leaning into trouser suits.
“The well-fitted suit, the more masculine suit, is telling voters that she is not a politician’s wife, she is not the president’s wife, she is the president,” says Deirdre Clemente, professor of history at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
She wore a dark suit to make her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
The look “gives that sense of the legal profession, judges and authority. I think it was just saying ‘I’m here to be taken seriously, I can be your leader’,” says Ms Clark.
Many of the audience were wearing white, thought to be a reference to the suffragettes, who fought for women to have vote.
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“I think there’s a lot of weight in the choice of white in the audience of the DNC that night and her choice of a black suit was a power move,” Ms Clemente said.
Donald Trump has had a consistent style for many years – he’s known for his dark blue suit and silky red tie.
“He seems to have been wearing the same red tie since the 1970s. It seems to have gotten longer,” said Ms Clemente.
“It is his way of projecting power, confidence and stability.”
And his vice presidential pick JD Vance seems to have adapted his style to match.
“It’s putting on a uniform to say we are all one, we are all following this person. I think sameness, perhaps, with the party as well,” said Ms Clark.
“With Trump it’s almost become like a costume now.”
Harris often wears a pearl necklace, a reference to her college sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which was founded by black women at Howard University.
“Her wearing of the necklace is absolutely a shout-out to all the women who have supported her and that sorority is central to that,” said Ms Clemente.
The vice president is also known for her love of Converse shoes.
The trainers, which are associated with American basketball culture, “are a powerful cultural tool because what she’s saying is these shoes are just like the ones you have in your closet”.
Mr Trump and his supporters often wear the instantly recognisable red Make America Great Again baseball cap.
“The MAGA hat has an incredible amount of power, especially here in battleground states,” said Ms Clemente. “You see MAGA hats all around.”
Baseball caps are “ubiquitous in being used to signify something, it’s like having a slogan on your t-shirt”, says Ms Clark.
One accessory all US politicians are rarely seen without is an American flag pin badge on their lapel, which can be used to show patriotism.
It may also project a message that “we are all fighting for the same team” despite political differences, said Ms Clemente.
With seven weeks to go until the US goes to the polls, Sky’s dedicated team of correspondents goes on the road to gauge what citizens in key swing states make of the choice for president.
This week they focus on the second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Mark Stone travels to Florida where the foiled attack took place, while James Matthews has been finding out more about the suspected would-be assassin in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Plus, Martha Kelner attended a Trump town hall in Flint, Michigan, to hear him speak for the first time after the attempt on his life, and asked voters if it will impact the way they vote in November.