Biden has a tough road ahead if he wants to keep Israel’s war from widening

The deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza has sparked anger across the Middle East and led to the cancellation of a meeting between the US president and King Abdullah of Jordan, the president of Egypt and the Palestinian president. It is an important chance missed, writes Kim Sengupta

Joe Biden delivers remarks in Tel Aviv (Reuters)

The strike on Al Ahli hospital in Gaza City with a feared death toll of hundreds – many of them women, children and the elderly – was carnage on a scale shocking even by the lethal tallies of the Gaza wars.

It came at a critical time, with Joe Biden flying into the region to try and stop this conflict from getting out of control, and the explosion raises significant obstacles to that taking place swiftly.

The news of the strike on the hospital, with initial reports of at least 500 dead led to anger and widespread condemnation in the region and beyond.