After a hospital attack in Gaza, Palestinian President Abbas cancels a meeting with Vice President Biden

 After a hospital attack in Gaza, Palestinian President Abbas cancels a meeting with Vice President Biden

A top source said that US President Joe Biden's meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had been postponed. This happened after an Israeli attack on a Gaza hospital on Tuesday left hundreds dead. 

Jordan was designated as the location for the conference. According to the senior Palestinian source, Abbas was going back to Ramallah, the occupied West Bank city where his administration is based. 

The White House had said in a statement, "President Biden will then travel to Amman, Jordan, so he will meet with his Lordship King Abdullah,who Egyptian President Sisi, and Palestinian Authority Leader Mahmoud Abbas."

"He will reiterate that Hamas is not an acronym for the Palestinian people’s right to sovereignty to self-determination while speaking about the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza," added the statement. 

More than 1400 people were 200 hostages were taken in a surprise assault that prompted Israel to declare war on Hamas earlier this month. 

Since then, more than 2,700 people have died in Palestine as a result of the retaliatory airstrikes. In addition, Israel has established a severe blockade on Gaza and sent tens of thousands of soldiers to the border in anticipation of a ground assault.

There is increasing worry that the crisis in Gaza, which is intensifying, might escalate into a larger confrontation in the Middle East.

As a show of force on Tuesday, the US military ordered 2,000 soldiers to be ready for deployment to the Middle East. However, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told CNN that there were currently no preparations to "put US boots on the ground in combat in Israel."

In the midst of an ongoing conflict with Hamas rebels, Biden will visit Israel. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was the first to confirm the trip; subsequently, the White House released a statement in which it was announced that US President Joe Biden will go to Israel on Wednesday to express his country's "ironclad" support.

The visit takes place roughly 12 days after US ally and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a relentless bombardment of Gaza, killing 3,00 Palestinians and injuring 12,500.