U.S. President Joe Biden has departed for Israel for talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the ongoing war with the Hamas militant group.

Biden, along with a group of aides including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, left Washington's Joint Base Andrews Tuesday afternoon.

Biden is expected to convey U.S. support for Israel and discuss ways to provide military assistance after being briefed on Israel's combat strategy, while likely discouraging "excessive retaliation" that could generate a large number of civilian casualties.

The two leaders are also expected to discuss humanitarian issues, including an evacuation of Gaza residents.

Biden's visit and scheduled meeting with Netanyahu on Wednesday comes on the heels of a deadly strike on a hospital in war-torn Gaza that killed at least 500 Palestinians.

While Hamas has blamed Israel for the attack, the Israel Defense Forces said the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launch by Islamic Jihad, a smaller Islamist militant group also based in Gaza.

Following the hospital blast, Biden's expected meeting with Arab leaders in Jordan, namely host King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, has been called off.