Hello! You're listening to the free edition of the World in Brief from the Economist.

As a reminder, if you subscribe to the Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead,

updated three times a day. If you're already an Economist subscriber, visit economist.com slash

espresso, or visit our espresso app to start listening. Here's today's free edition.

This is The World in Brief from the Economist.

Our top stories. Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas,

said that hundreds of people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a hospital in Gaza City,

where Palestinians were receiving treatment or sheltering. The Israel Defense Forces denied

Israeli responsibility and blamed a failed rocket fired by Palestinian Islamic Shihad,

a militant group. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank,

declared three days of mourning.

Jordan's foreign ministers said that it would cancel the four-party summit that Joe Biden

was due to attend on Wednesday in Aman, the capital. The announcement came as Mr. Biden left

Washington, D.C. for Israel. Hours earlier, Mr. Abbas had backed out of a meeting following a

deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza. Jim Jordan lost a vote on the floor of America's House

of Representatives to become the Chamber's Speaker, 20 Republicans and all 212 Democrats with

held their support, leaving the Hardline Republican Congressman with 200 votes. He needed 217 to

clinch the position, which has been vacant since October 3rd, when Republican Kevin McCarthy was

ousted. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, met with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart,

and a summit in Beijing marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative.

It is Mr. Putin's second trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant

for his arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Mr. Putin also held talks with the leaders of

...