Breaking : US President Joe Biden arrives Israel on solidarity visit

In the wake of Hamas attacks and a deadly blast at a Gaza hospital that has heightened regional tensions, US Vice President Joe Biden has arrived in Israel for a show of support.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted Vice President Joe Biden on the tarmac, embracing him in a sign of the strong relationship that has developed between their countries.

On the tarmac of Ben Gurion Airport, surrounded by their guards, Biden and Netanyahu exchanged a few words with each other before being whisked away in their respective motorcades to a hotel in Tel Aviv for their scheduled talks.

Snipers were posted on the roofs of nearby villas, and hundreds of armed police and troops were stationed around the seaside Tel Aviv hotel where Netanyahu and Biden will meet.

Located only 40 miles (65 kilometres) away, Tel Aviv is close to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which Israel has been bombing since an October 7 attack that killed hundreds.