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Latest developments
A massive explosion rocked a Gaza hospital Tuesday night, possibly killing several hundred people, as U.S. President Joe Biden left for Israel on an overnight flight to show his support for the longtime U.S. ally.
The White House said a planned meeting with key Arab leaders in Jordan had been canceled.
Hamas militants blamed Israel for the attack on Gaza City's Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, saying in a statement that there were "hundreds of casualties, most of them displaced families, patients, children and women." Palestinian authorities said about 500 people had been killed.
The Israel Defense Forces denied being at fault, saying an errant rocket fired by the paramilitary Palestinian Islamic Jihad struck the hospital. The militant group denied it was responsible.
The White House released a statement at roughly the same time of Biden's departure.
"After consulting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and in light of the days of mourning announced by President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, President Biden will postpone his travel to Jordan and the planned meeting with these two leaders and President Sisi of Egypt," the statement said.
"The President sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. He looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days," it continued.
Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour said Tuesday, "Our Jordanian brothers said we cannot have a summit with these conditions. ... Only [one] thing would make sense - if he'd [Biden] make a cease-fire and say, 'I'm coming to force implementation of it.'"
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Hamas called the explosion "a crime of genocide that once again reveals the ugly face of this criminal enemy and its fascist and terrorist government."
October 7 attack
Hamas, which launched the October 7 terror attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, has long refused to recognize the Jewish state.
In response, Israel has put Gaza under a total siege and subjected it to an intense bombardment. It has vowed to annihilate Hamas. Some 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council will vote on a Brazilian-drafted resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Hamas to allow humanitarian aid access to the Gaza Strip.
The council is then expected to discuss - at the request of the United Arab Emirates and Russia - the Gaza hospital blast that killed hundreds of people on Tuesday, diplomats said.
The 15-member council had initially been due to vote Monday on the Brazilian draft, but it was postponed 24 hours to allow more time to negotiate. The United States then pushed for a further delay as Biden visits Israel on Wednesday.
The White House said Monday that while in Israel, the president "will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said early Tuesday in Israel, after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Blinken said the U.S. and Israel agreed to develop a plan "that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza - and them alone."
Israel in recent days has ordered Palestinian civilians living in the northern half of Gaza to head to the southern reaches of the territory along the Mediterranean Sea. About 600,000 people in cars and on foot have heeded the Israeli demand.
But Israeli forces have continued to launch airstrikes into southern Gaza, including on Tuesday morning, along with attacks on Hamas targets in the north.
The humanitarian crisis has grown increasingly dire in Gaza. Israel has blocked basic necessities from reaching the territory. There is limited electricity and diminishing supplies of food and water, while hospitals say they are hard-pressed to treat the wounded.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Tuesday that Turkey has had talks with Hamas officials about the release of nearly 200 people the militants took hostages.
Fidan said many countries have asked Turkey to help secure the release of their citizens. His comments came a day after he spoke with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Northern front
There are fears that the fighting could expand to Israel's border with Lebanon, where the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah said its fighters targeted five Israeli posts along Lebanon's southern border.
The Israeli Air Force said Tuesday it struck Hezbollah "terror targets and military infrastructure" in Lebanon in response to militant fire toward Israel.
Israeli troops also killed four militants who were trying to cross into Israel from Lebanon, the military said Tuesday.
Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this article. Some information came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.