By Iclal Turan
WASHINGTON (AA) - US President Joe Biden attended an Israeli war cabinet meeting Wednesday and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu where he said the US will "continue to have Israel's back."
"You are not alone. Because I emphasized earlier, we will continue to have Israel's back as you work to defend your people," Biden said during the meeting in Tel Aviv.
He added that the US will continue to work with Israel and partners across the region to "prevent more tragedy to innocent civilians."
Netanyahu, for his part, said this will be a "different kind of war" because Hamas is a "different kind of enemy," and accused Hamas of maximizing civilian casualties while Israel seeks to "minimize civilian casualties."
Biden's visit came one day after at least 471 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital.
Biden said Tuesday that he is "deeply saddened by the explosion" at the hospital which left hundreds dead.
"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted," he said in a statement.
After meeting Netanyahu, Biden met first responders and victims’ families. He was asked what made him confident the Israelis were not behind the strike at the hospital.
“The data I was shown by my defense department,” he said.
Biden was planning to visit Jordan to meet King Abdullah II of Jordan, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But the four-way summit was canceled after the Israeli strike on the hospital.