WASHINGTON U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he was "outraged" by the explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed about 500 people and said he had directed his national security team to gather information about exactly what had happened.

"I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the Al Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted," Biden, who is traveling to Israel, said in a statement.

"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler)