Hundreds killed in Gaza hospital blast

The news: Hundreds have been killed in a blast at a Gaza hospital that Palestinian authorities said was caused by an Israeli air strike but that the Israeli military blamed on a failed rocket launch by a Palestinian militant group.

The numbers: Health authorities in Gaza said 500 people were killed in the blast at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza City. Prior to Tuesday's incident, at least 3,000 people had been killed in Israel's 11-day bombardment that began after Hamas militants rampaged into southern Israel on 7 October, killing more than 1,300 people, mainly civilians.

The context: The blast is the bloodiest single incident in Gaza since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign, and comes on the eve of a visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel to show support for the country. The Israeli military denied responsibility for the blast, suggesting the hospital was hit by a failed rocket launch by the enclave's Palestinian Islamic Jihad military group. Regardless of who was responsible, the incident will likely make even more complex diplomatic efforts to contain the crisis. It sparked protests in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas cancelled a planned meeting with Biden.