Israel-Gaza updates: Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages, Gaza aid

Appealing for peace in the Holy Land, Pope Francis expressed concern at the end of his weekly public audience in the Vatican for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“Also today our thoughts go to Israel and Palestine. Casualties are rising and the situation in Gaza is desperate,” he said on Wednesday, speaking in Italian. “Please do everything possible to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.”

He added, "Disturbing is the possible widening of the conflict, while in the world so many war fronts are already open. Silence the guns! Let the cry for peace of peoples, of people, of children be heard! Brothers and sisters, war does not solve any problem, it only sows death and destruction, increases hatred and multiplies revenge. War erases the future. I urge believers to take only one side in this conflict: that of peace; but not with words, with prayer, with total dedication."

He also called on all parties to lay down their weapons and all Christians to pray and fast on Oct. 27, calling it “a day of fasting and prayer, of penance.”

-ABC News' Phoebe Natanson

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden said he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the deadly hospital explosion in Gaza, and seemed to determine that Israel was not to blame, saying it was “done by the other team.”

“I was deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you. But there's a lot of people out there, not sure, so we're gonna have to overcome a lot of things.”

That assessment from Biden seems to have evolved quickly and in only a matter of hours. In his statement just last night, the president said his national security team would “continue gathering information about what exactly happened.”

2:14

Biden says Gaza hospital explosion was 'done by the other team'

During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Joe Biden said he was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the deadly hospital explosion in Gaza.

ABCNews.com

Biden opened his remarks saying he was in the country to tell Israelis and the world “to know where the United States stands” and that “Americans are grieving with you” and worried because “this is not an easy field to navigate.”

Biden also said he was going to “make sure” that Israel continues to receive the defense assistance it needs to defend themselves during this time and added that Hamas “does not represent all the Palestinian people” and has “brought them only suffering.”

He also briefly discussed the need for humanitarian aid for Gaza to help Palestinians “who are innocent, caught in the middle of this” as Netanyahu thanked Biden for the “unequivocal” support for Israel, saying it mirrors the “overwhelming will of the American people.”

“I've seen your support every day and the depth and breadth of cooperation that we have had since the beginning of this war. A level of cooperation that is truly unprecedented in the history of the great alliance between our two nations,” Netanyahu said.

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

President Joe Biden arrived in Israel under heavy security on Wednesday as he visits the war-torn region on a high-stakes diplomatic trip.

His visit comes a day after a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital killed at more than 500 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The White House said Tuesday evening that the death toll resulting from Hamas’ initial attack in Israel had risen to 31 Americans killed, with 13 Americans still unaccounted for.

The update came from press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and spokesman John Kirby, during an audio-only briefing aboard Air Force One while en route to Israel.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is planning is impose new sanctions on several Hamas leaders this week, according to a U.S. official.

The Treasury Department is planning to announce the sanctions sometime this week, the official said. The Treasury Department declined to comment.

Earlier Tuesday, a top Treasury official pledged that his agency would “bring our tools to bear against Hamas’ financing and the overall funding of terrorism.”

“Disrupting Hamas’ financing operations is not new to us; this has been a priority for Treasury for decades,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said at a conference. “We are equipped to target this infrastructure and its supporters, whether they be political leadership, operatives, facilitators, financiers, investors, or entire global procurement networks.”

The Israel Defense Forces have again called on residents of Gaza City to evacuate.

"The IDF calls on #GazaCity residents to evacuate south for their protection," read a post on the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories X page (formerly Twitter) early Wednesday morning local time.

Col. Elad Goren, head of the Civil Department at COGAT, said in a video message that humanitarian aid will be sent to the areas they are asking people to evacuate to "if necessary."

"In recent days, the IDF has been calling on the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate their homes and move to the south of Wadi Gaza," he said in the video post shared on X. "This measure was taken to protect them. We recommend moving to open areas in western Khan Yunus and if necessary international humanitarian aid will be sent there. Hamas is trying to prevent the population from evacuating northern Gaza."

Maps were shared in the post, showing where the IDF wanted people to move.