Israel denies targeting Gaza hospital, Palestinian leader Abbas cancels meeting with Biden

Amanda Macias
Ruxandra Iordache
Natasha Turak

This was CNBC's live blog tracking developments in the Israel-Hamas war. Click here for the latest Israel news and updates on Gaza.

The bombing of a hospital in Gaza City has killed hundreds of people and escalated the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Both sides blamed the other, but horrific scenes of the wounded ignited street protests in capitals across the region.

Israel's aerial bombardment campaign over the Gaza Strip is part of what it calls a total siege. This includes cutting off water, food and electricity supplies to a population of two million people. Human rights groups have criticized the siege for breaking humanitarian law.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said he plans to address the humanitarian crisis for Palestinian civilians when he visits Israel and Jordan this week.

Israel's military operation in Gaza, is in response to a brutal terrorist attack in Israel by Hamas Oct. 7 that killed at least 1,000 people, including Americans. The Israeli government says that Hamas is still holding at least 199 hostages kidnapped from Israel.

More CNBC coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

Tue, Oct 17 2023 11:46 PM EDT

At least 17 journalists killed since war began, Committee to Protect Journalists says

The Committee to Protect Journalists said at least 17 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Of the known deaths, the CPJ said 13 were Palestinian, three were Israeli and one was Lebanese.

It said eight journalists have been injured and three have been reported missing or detained.

The nonprofit said it continues to investigate "unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists' homes."

"CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties," said Sherif Mansour, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heartbreaking conflict. All parties must take steps to ensure their safety."

Christine Wang

Tue, Oct 17 2023 10:51 PM EDT

U.S. State Department advises Americans to not travel to Lebanon

The U.S. State Department advised Americans against traveling to Lebanon, citing an unpredictable security situation due to kidnappings, unrest in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war and "rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges" between Israel and Hezbollah.

The department raised its travel advisory for Lebanon to level 4, the highest on its rating scale, and warned that the embassy in Beirut has limited capacity to support U.S. citizens there.

State currently has a level 4 travel advisory for Gaza, citing terrorism, civil unrest and armed conflict. It has a level 3 advisory for Israel and the West Bank, recommending Americans reconsider traveling due to terrorism and civil unrest.

— Christine Wang

Tue, Oct 17 2023 9:20 PM EDT

Biden plans to request $100 billion in funding that would include money for Israel, Ukraine

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (not pictured), as he visits Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, October 18, 2023. 

President Joe Biden is planning to submit a request for $100 billion in supplemental funding to Congress in the coming days that would include money for Israel, Taiwan, Ukraine and U.S. border security, two people familiar with the discussions told NBC News.

One source said the details of the package have not been finalized and could still change. The president is expected to send his request to lawmakers by the end of this week after he returns from his Middle East trip.

— NBC News

Tue, Oct 17 2023 8:23 PM EDT

Protests erupt across the world after hundreds killed in Gaza hospital bombing

Protesters demonstrate in front of the Israeli consulate after an explosion at hospital in Gaza killed hundreds on October 17, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. A protest was rapidly organized here outside the Israeli consulate after Palestinian officials said that more than 500 people were killed in an alleged Israeli air strike today at the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Israeli officials have suggested that the explosion was caused by a misfired Hamas rocket. Earlier today, Israel's National Security Council warned Israeli travelers to leave Turkey as soon as possible, citing the risk of attacks.
People gather in Tahrir Square of Baghdad, Iraq to protest against Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza as Israeli attacks continue, on October 18, 2023.
People gather to protest against Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza as Israeli attacks continue, in Ramallah, West Bank on October 17, 2023. Palestinian Civil Police Force intervened against the demonstrators who lit fires and blocked some roads.
Palestinians lift Hamas movement flags as they protest in Nablus city in the occupied West Bank following an airstrike on a Gaza hospital compound killing hundreds on October 17, 2023.
People stage a protest against Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, with Palestinian flags in hands, in front of the French Embassy building in Beirut, Lebanon on October 17, 2023.
People gather to protest against Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday as Israeli attacks continue on its eleventh day, in New York, United States on October 17, 2023.
People gather in front of the French Embassy at Avenue Habib Bourguiba to protest against Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza as Israeli attacks continue, in Tunis, Tunisia on October 17, 2023. (Photo by Yassine Gaidi/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Getty Images

Tue, Oct 17 2023 7:59 PM EDT

UN Security Council to vote Wednesday on Israel-Gaza conflict

State of Palestine Ambassador Riyad Mansour speaks to the press before the start of the closed doors Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East at UN Headquarters. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The United Nations Security Council will now vote on Wednesday on a Brazilian-drafted resolution that calls for humanitarian pauses in the conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants 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 - a Gaza hospital blast that killed hundreds of people on Tuesday, diplomats said.

Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour blamed Israeli forces for the "massacre" at the hospital, calling for an immediate ceasefire. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan issued a statement accusing the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group of responsibility.

Reuters

Tue, Oct 17 2023 7:34 PM EDT

Biden's meeting with the leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority called off

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. Biden will make a dangerous and politically risky trip to Israel intended to show solidarity with the US's closest ally in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from engulfing the wider region. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images

President Joe Biden will no longer visit Jordan as part of his Middle East trip this week, after a leaders summit on humanitarian aid for Palestinians was abruptly canceled Tuesday.

The decision was made as unrest across the region swelled, in response to the deadly bombing of a hospital in Gaza.

Biden had been scheduled to meet in with Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority president Mahmound Abbas after first visiting Israel.

"There is no use in talking now about anything except stopping the war," Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi said on state television.

The bombing of the al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday killed hundreds of people and escalated the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.

"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, Biden said in statement Tuesday.

"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy," he added.

Christina Wilkie

Tue, Oct 17 2023 6:15 PM EDT

Biden departs for Israel and postpones trip to Jordan

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One, leaving Westchester County Airport June 16, 2023, in White Plains, New York.

President Joe Biden departed for a 10-hour flight to Israel and did not take questions from reporters on the status of his scheduled trip to Amman, Jordan.

A White House official confirmed to NBC News that Biden will postpone his travel to Amman in consultation with King Abdullah II of Jordan following an announcement from President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority calling for days of morning.

The official added that Biden sent his condolences following the deadly attack on the hospital in Gaza.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 5:47 PM EDT

WHO describes strike on Gaza hospital 'unprecedented in scale'

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A man carries a wounded child into at al-Shifa hospital following Israeli strikes in Gaza City on October 10, 2023.

The World Health Organization, or WHO, called the strike on a hospital in Gaza "unprecedented in scale," according to a Reuters report.

"This attack is unprecedented in scale," said Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative for the West Bank and Gaza, according to Reuters.

He added that the WHO has observed "consistent attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory."

Peeperkorn said there have been more than 50 attacks against healthcare facilities in Gaza and at least 15 health workers killed.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 5:33 PM EDT

'Words fail me,' UN human rights chief condemns attack on Gaza hospital

Injured Palestinians taken to Al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17, 2023.

The United Nations Human Rights chief Volker Turk condemned the deadly attack on the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza calling the strike "totally unacceptable."

"Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed – horrifically – in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital," Turk said in a statement.

"Hospitals are sacrosanct, and they must be protected at all costs," he said, adding "Those found responsible must be held to account."

"We don't yet know the full scale of this carnage, but what is clear is that the violence and killings must stop at once," he said.

Both Hamas and Israel have placed blame for the strike on each other.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 5:05 PM EDT

British Defense Secretary Shapps arrives in DC to discuss Israel-Hamas conflict with Secretary Austin and lawmakers

Grant Shapps, the U.K.'s new defense minister.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps arrived in Washington for his first visit since ascending to the role to meet with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

The two will discuss the ongoing security and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East at the Pentagon.

Shapps will also meet with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill while in Washington. Last week, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ordered the deployment of British military assets to the eastern Mediterranean to provide support and deter malign actors for intensifying the ongoing conflict.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 4:37 PM EDT

Palestinian protesters flood West Bank cities after hundreds killed in Gaza hospital strike

The Associated Press is reporting that hundreds of Palestinians are taking to the streets in the West Bank, including the seat of the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah, to protest the strike on the Gaza City hospital that killed hundreds of people.

The AP reported that protesters threw stones at Palestinian security forces who responded with stun grenades.

Palestinians rally in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on October 17, 2023. Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound on October 17 killed at least 200 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said, while an Israeli military spokesman would not immediately confirm its forces bombed the hospital.
Palestinians rally in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on October 17, 2023. Israeli air strikes on a Gaza hospital compound on October 17 killed at least 200 people, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said, while an Israeli military spokesman would not immediately confirm its forces bombed the hospital. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinians injured in an air strike await treatment at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 17, 2023.
A Medic carries a Palestinian child injured during air strikes into a hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 16, 2023.
(EDITORS NOTE: Image depicts graphic content) Injured Palestinian kid taken to Al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on October 17, 2023. Over 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(EDITORS NOTE: Image depicts graphic content) Scores of injured people are being taken to Al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on October 17, 2023. Over 500 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Riya Bhattacharjee

Tue, Oct 17 2023 4:25 PM EDT

UN says food 'to feed about a quarter-million people for about a week' is ready to enter Gaza

The United Nations said that humanitarian teams and supplies are ready to move into Gaza but have yet to be able to do so.

"The World Food Programme tells us they have more than 310 tonnes of ready-to-eat food either at the border or on their way to Rafah – enough to feed about a quarter-million people for about a week," United Nations Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said during a press briefing.

Dujarric said more food supplies are arriving at an airport in northeastern Egypt in the coming days.

"Meanwhile, the UN Refugee Agency, or UNHCR, is supporting the overall U.N. efforts to provide much-needed support to Gaza through the Egyptian Red Crescent. UNHCR will be providing bottled water, blankets, mattresses, jerrycans, hygiene kits and clothing items," he added.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 4:02 PM EDT

Palestinian leader Abbas cancels meeting with Biden

U.S. President Joe Biden (L) meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) in Bethlehem, West Bank on July 15, 2022.

Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the State of Palestine, has canceled a planned Wednesday meeting with Biden, according to a senior Palestinian official.

Abbas reportedly dropped out of a summit in Amman, Jordan to protest an alleged Israeli airstrike on a Gaza hospital, the Associated Press reported.

The Palestinian leader was scheduled to meet with Biden along with Jordan's King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the cancelation has not been formally announced.

— Chelsey Cox

Tue, Oct 17 2023 3:57 PM EDT

Israel says it did not carry out a strike on a hospital in Gaza

A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said it did not carry out a strike on a hospital in central Gaza.

"A hospital is a highly sensitive building and not an IDF Target. The IDF is currently investigating and as always prioritizes accuracy," the spokesperson said according to an NBC News report.

"We urge everyone to proceed with caution while reporting about a terror organization," the spokesperson added.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 3:47 PM EDT

UN Secretary General will travel to Egypt this week to discuss humanitarian aid

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press briefing at the UN headquarters in New York, on Oct. 11, 2023.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Cairo, Egypt on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

"In order to move humanitarian aid through Gaza, we need safe passage," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a press briefing announcing Guterres' trip.

"There are intense discussions going on which we're involved with a number of parties in order to try to get the most basic humanitarian aid in as quickly as possible, and that's food, water, medicine," Dujarric added.

Dujarric declined to comment when asked by reporters at the United Nations if Guterres would travel to Israel.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 3:15 PM EDT

Turkey's Erdogan slams airstrike on Gaza hospital, places blame on Israel

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed the airstrike on a hospital in Gaza, placing the blame squarely on Israel.

"Hitting a hospital containing women, children and innocent civilians is the latest example of Israel's attacks devoid of the most basic human values," Erdogan wrote in a social media post on X, according to a Google translation.

"I invite all humanity to take action to stop this unprecedented brutality in Gaza," he added.

An Israeli Defense Forces spokesman said the airstrike was under investigation but added that the explosion could be from a Hamas rocket.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 2:45 PM EDT

Hamas says it will release civilian hostages in an hour if Israeli strikes on Gaza stop

Young boys look at posters depicting missing people and stating that they were kidnapped by Hamas militants outside a Synagogue in Larnaca, Cyprus October 17, 2023.

A Hamas official told NBC News that the group is prepared to release all civilian hostages in an hour if Israel halts airstrikes in Gaza.

It was not immediately clear how many civilian hostages the militant group has kidnapped since the war began on Oct. 7.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 1:54 PM EDT

Biden speaks to bipartisan delegation returning from Israel

U.S. President Joe Biden speaking to Vladimir Putin from the White House on Dec. 30, 2021.

The White House said President Joe Biden spoke with the bipartisan congressional delegation led by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck (D-N.Y.) that went to Israel over the weekend.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisana, Democrat Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, Democrat Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah were forced to shelter in place during their trip due to air raid sirens.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 1:30 PM EDT

At least 500 people killed in hospital bombing, Gaza Health Ministry says

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Relatives mourn over the bodies of Palestinians killed in a strike on the Ahli Arab hospital in central Gaza after they were transported to Al-Shifa hospital, on October 17, 2023. A strike on a hospital compound in the Gaza Strip killed at least was blamed by officials in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory on October 17, sparking widespread condemnation and fury. But Israel's army blamed a rocket misfired by militants in Gaza. (Photo by Dawood NEMER / AFP) (Photo by DAWOOD NEMER/AFP via Getty Images)

The Gaza Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike hit a hospital in central Gaza and has killed at least 500 people, according to an AP report.

If confirmed, the Israeli airstrike would be by far the deadliest since 2008, according to the AP.

Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qudra said there were about 500 victims in the attack, NBC reported. He estimated that between 200 to 300 were killed. It is unclear when Al Qudra made his statement.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that the reports of an Israeli airstrike against a hospital in Gaza are still under investigation.

"There are a lot of airstrikes, a lot of failed rockets, and a lot of fake reports by Hamas," Hagari said according to a Times of Israel report.

— Amanda Macias

Tue, Oct 17 2023 12:48 PM EDT

First lady of Ukraine calls the first lady of Israel to offer condolences

Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska speaks to members of the US Congress about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in the US Capitol Visitors Center Auditorium on July 20, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, spoke to Israeli First Lady Michal Herzog to express condolences to the victims of the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.

"We feel your pain, the pain of every family in Israel. Ukrainians in all corners of our country express support for the people of Israel, and I want to convey this to you. These and many other manifestations of solidarity confirm how close our peoples are in both joy and sorrow," Zelenska said, according to a readout of the call provided by the Ukrainian government.

Zelenska said that at least 13 Ukrainian citizens were confirmed dead since the start of the Isael-Hamas conflict.

— Amanda Macias

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