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Gaza City could be destroyed if Hamas does not agree to terms to end war, Israel’s defense minister says

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned Friday that Gaza city could “turn into Rafah and Beit Hanoun,” areas that were destroyed earlier in the war, unless Hamas agrees to Israel’s terms.

This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would approve the military’s plans to seize Gaza City.

“Soon, the gates of hell will open on the heads of Hamas’ murderers and rapists in Gaza – until they agree to Israel’s conditions for ending the war, primarily the release of all hostages and their disarmament. If they do not agree – Gaza, the capital of Hamas, will become Rafah and Beit Hanoun. Exactly as I promised – so it will be,” Katz said in a post on X.

The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that ground troops are “operating on the outskirts of Gaza City locating and dismantling terrorist infrastructure above and underground.”

The IDF has said it plans to escalate the war soon by seizing Gaza City and other Hamas strongholds in the Gaza Strip, which humanitarian organizations warned will exacerbate the hunger crisis.

A United Nations-backed food security monitor announced on Friday that a famine determination has been made in Gaza City. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised its classification for the Gaza City region in the north-central Gaza Strip to Phase 5, the highest and worst level of its acute food insecurity scale. The IPC itself does not declare a famine, but its famine determination can inform decision-makers in governments and bodies such as the U.N.

In a report published Friday, the IPC said “this Famine is entirely man-made,” adding that it can be “halted and reversed.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli defense body in charge of coordinating aid to Gaza, said Friday it “firmly rejects the claim of famine in the Gaza Strip, and particularly in Gaza City,” alleging that the IPC report “is based on partial and unreliable sources, many of them affiliated with Hamas.”

In a statement Friday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office called the IPC’s famine determination in parts of the Gaza Strip “an outright lie” and “a modern blood libel.”

The IDF said its troops are operating in the Jabalia area, Khan Younis and on the outskirts of Gaza City to “eliminate terrorists and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.”

At least 71 Palestinians were killed and 251 injured throughout the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Friday.

Among those killed were 24 people trying to get humanitarian aid, while another 133 aid seekers were wounded, according to the health ministry.

Two others died of starvation over the past day, bringing the total number of deaths due to starvation to 273, including 112 children, the health ministry said.

FBI searching former Trump adviser John Bolton’s home and office

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Federal agents were seen Friday morning searching the Maryland residence and Washington, D.C., office of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, ABC News has learned.

Sources familiar with the matter told ABC News that the search, carried out by the FBI, is related to allegations that Bolton is in possession of classified records.

“NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission,” FBI director Kash Patel said on social media.

It was not immediately clear what sensitive records federal investigators believe Bolton may have possessed.

The federal agents, along with approximately six FBI vehicles, were seen at Bolton’s home for over an hour early this morning around 7 a.m. Local Montgomery County police were observed by ABC News blocking both entrances to Bolton’s street but have since left.

Agents were seen coming in and out of the house and it is still unclear if anything was removed from inside Bolton’s home.

The extraordinary move comes as President Donald Trump has recently ramped up pressure on the Justice Department to bring charges against his political opponents.

Bolton has long been a target of Trump’s ire. Most recently Trump has taken aim at Bolton’s criticisms of Trump’s engagements with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump told reporters Friday morning that he didn’t know about the FBI raid on Bolton’s house.

When asked whether he expected the DOJ to brief him on the raid, Trump said that they “probably” would give him updates “today sometime” but added that he didn’t want to know about the details.

“You have to do what you have to do. I don’t want to know about it,” Trump said in reference to Attorney General Pam Bondi and other officials involved in the investigation.

“America’s safety isn’t negotiable,” Bondi said in a response to Patel’s earlier post on social media. “Justice will be pursued. Always.”

A federal magistrate judge in Maryland signed off on the search at Bolton’s home, sources said.

A separate federal magistrate judge in Washington had authorized the search of his downtown D.C. office, according to sources.

To obtain a search warrant, investigators need to have probable cause of a violation of federal law.

That means authorities would need to convince a judge that there is sufficient reason based on known facts to believe that a crime has been committed, or that a certain property is connected with a crime.

The search, however, does not mean prosecutors have determined Bolton committed a crime.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

RNC elects longtime Trump loyalist, Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, as new chair

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Republican National Committee on Friday elected President Donald Trump’s candidate of choice, Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, by unanimous voice vote.

Gruters’ ascendency underscores the RNC’s commitments to boosting those who share Trump’s political vision as the White House zeros in on its priorities ahead of the midterms.

The position had been left open by departing chairman Michael Whatley, who last month launched a bid for retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis’ Senate seat. While co-signing Whatley’s campaign on his social media site, Trump offered his “complete and total endorsement” to Gruters, who he said would do a “wonderful” job as chairman.

Trump’s backing cleared the prospective field instantly and Gruters ran unopposed.

Whatley also gave Gruters his stamp of approval to replace him.

Gruters chaired the Florida GOP from 2019 to 2023 – and Republicans told ABC News he was mission-critical in eliminating Democrats’ voter registration advantage in the state. After the 2018 election, Democrats had a voter advantage of 263,269. Yet, in the fall of 2022, Republicans expanded their reach, leading voter registration by 292,533 voters — a near 556,000 registered voter swing, per PBS.

“You’re registering almost a million new Republicans in Florida. That was what Joe’s chairmanship was, kind of the hallmark of what he was able to do …after Joe’s chairmanship, Florida slipped from battleground status,” said Scott Golden, a longtime friend of Gruters, who currently chairs the Tennessee Republican Party.

And Golden noted that Gruters, who is currently the RNC’s treasurer, is a “terrific, terrific” fundraiser, another key trait for a party chairman.

“I think everybody feels very comfortable that he’s going to do a very good job as Chairman. He’s a great analyst, a CPA by trade. Obviously, Florida is a great proving ground for politics,” said Golden. “I think most members around the country recognize that and know that he knows what he’s doing. He will run the party competently and make sure that all the resources are on the field to make us successful in ’26.”

Gruters was one of the earliest backers of Trump, throwing his support behind him way back in 2016. Trump paid the favor back and endorsed Gruters’ state Senate re-election run in 2022, and boosted him once again, this time to be Florida’s chief financial officer, noting the pair’s long history.

“Joe was on the ‘Trump Train’ before it even left the station,” Trump wrote on social media in May 2024. “As a State Senator and Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Joe has done more than anyone to help turn Florida RED, and elect Republicans across the State.”

While Gruters faced nearly no public opposition from members of the committee and members of the president’s political orbit – he does have one public detractor: Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.

During a news conference where DeSantis offered support to the candidate that would ultimately become Florida’s chief financial officer, he slammed Gruters.

“Joe Gruters has taken major positions that are totally contrary from what our voter base wants to do,” DeSantis said during the July event. “So, if George Washington rose from the dead and came back and tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Will you appoint Joe Gruters CFO?’ My response would be ‘no.'”

Though Gruters told local publication Florida Politics, he is open to mending fences.

ABC News has reached out to DeSantis for comment.

Veteran Republican political strategist Brett Doster told ABC that Trump not only gets a fundraiser, but a fighter, in Gruters.

“I’ve known Joe for more than 20 years now – since before he was elected to the state house. Joe took a big risk and went with Trump back in 2015 when almost every leader in Florida, out of personal loyalty, was sticking with either Jeb or Marco,” Doster said.

“With Joe Gruters as GOP chairman, Trump gets a practiced mouthpiece who will go to war for the administration on the Sunday shows and will keep the RNC rigidly fixed on the Trump – Wiles playbook for the midterms. Gruters will be undistracted by Congressional or Senate power plays.”

Famine determined in parts of Gaza, 500,000 experiencing ‘catastrophic’ hunger: Report

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Famine has been determined in Gaza Governorate, where Gaza City is located, according to a warning issued Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

The report from IPC — a global initiative monitoring hunger with the backing of governments, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations — projected famine would expand to Deir al-Balah Governorate, in central Gaza, and Khan Younis Governorate, in southern Gaza, by the end of September.

The IPC itself doesn’t issue official declarations of famine, but its findings can inform governments and bodies such as the U.N. to make a famine declaration.

The report also found that more than half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing Phase 5 conditions, which are characterized as catastrophic levels of food insecurity. About 1.07 million people, 54% of the population, are facing Phase 4 conditions, characterized as emergency levels of food insecurity.

Between mid-August and the end of September 2025, almost a third of the population — nearly 641,000 people — are expected to face Phase 5 catastrophic conditions and the number of people facing emergency levels will likely increase to 1.14 million, according to the report.

The IPC report stated that, given the inability to classify North Gaza due to barriers reaching the area, the figures in the report are an underestimate. Estimates also exclude any remaining population in Rafah, in southern Gaza, because it is mostly uninhabited, according to the IPC.

The food crisis in Gaza has worsened since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended in March and Israel instituted a blockade on aid into Gaza. An increasing number of deaths due to malnutrition have also been reported and gut-wrenching images have emerged of suffering children and long food lines.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Judge blocks transfers to ‘Alligator Alcatraz,’ effectively winding down operations

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(OCHOPEE, Fla.)– A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration and the state of Florida to effectively wind down operations at the controversial immigrant detention center in the Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” over environmental concerns.

In an 82-page ruling Thursday evening, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the government from transferring any additional detainees to the site or performing any more construction work.

Within 60 days, the judge ordered the Trump administration to remove temporary fencing, industrial lighting, generators, sewage and waste receptacles from the site.

A coalition of environmental groups and a Native American Tribe sued over the site, arguing that the government bypassed necessary environmental reviews before constructing the sprawling facility. The judge agreed with the plaintiffs that Florida officials and the Trump administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act, risking irreparable harm to the sensitive environment of the Everglades.

“Plaintiffs have provided extensive evidence supporting their claims of significant ongoing and likely future environmental harms from the project,” the judge wrote.

Williams had issued a temporary restraining order two weeks ago blocking additional construction at the site.

The preliminary injunction marks one of the most high-profile uses of environmental law to challenge the Trump administration’s policies.

“Every Florida governor, every Florida senator, and countless local and national political figures, including presidents, have publicly pledged their unequivocal support for the restoration, conservation, and protection of the Everglades. This Order does nothing more than uphold the basic requirements of legislation designed to fulfill those promises,” the judge wrote.

Florida officials are already signaling plans to appeal today’s decision to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, filing a notice of appeal in Florida federal court.

The environmental groups that filed the lawsuit celebrated the decision as a “landmark victory for the Everglades.”

“This brutal detention center was burning a hole in the fabric of life that supports our most iconic wetland and a whole host of endangered species, from majestic Florida panthers to wizened wood storks. The judge’s order came just in time to stop it all from unraveling,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.

There were two major lawsuits challenging the use of the facility — one based on the limited legal access to the facility and another based on environmental concerns. Earlier this week, a federal judge dismissed part of the lawsuit related to legal access because the Department of Justice designated a nearby immigration court for the facility.

Defense Secretary Hegseth authorizes 2K National Guard troops to carry arms in DC

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed an order authorizing the latest National Guard troops to arrive in Washington, D.C. to carry weapons if their mission requires it, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The new authority is expected to be acted on in coming days, the person said.

Hegseth’s decision paves the way for the nearly 2,000 troops now mobilized in Washington, D.C., to expand their operations significantly, including possible security patrols in neighborhoods that struggle with crime.

In a visit to Guard personnel on Thursday, President Donald Trump suggested the military personnel would be playing a larger role in law enforcement in the city.

“You got to be strong, you got to be tough,” Trump told Guard personnel at the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility. “You got to do your job. Whatever it takes to do your job.”

Last week, Trump declared that crime in D.C. was out of control and that he would take over D.C. police operations. He also ordered 800 members of the D.C. National Guard to report to active duty.

Working in shifts, the troops began arriving in small numbers at popular tourist spots like the Washington Monument along the National Mall, where crime is relatively low. Standing alongside armored Humvees, the unarmed soldiers and airman could be seen posing for pictures with tourists and talking with children.

Trump though has moved to expand the effort considerably, requesting additional troops from nearby states. So far, six Republican governors have complied, with troops arriving this week from Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, South Carolina and Mississippi.

The military task force overseeing the operation said that most of those troops were in place as of Thursday morning, bringing the force size in the nation’s capital up to nearly 2,000.

In his visit to the Guard troops on Thursday, Trump suggested the troops could stay for six months or longer.

“You do the job on safety, and I’ll get this place fixed up physically, and we’re going to be so proud of it at the end of six months,” he said.

“But let’s say at the end of the year, this place will be maxed out in terms of beauty. You’ll have all new surfaces. You’ll have all new medians, everything’s going to look beautiful,” he added.

Historically, presidents have relied upon the National Guard to secure cities in only extraordinary circumstances, such as large-scale events like the presidential inauguration or in response to riots, like the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the Capitol.

Violent crime levels in the city have decreased compared to years prior, down 26% since 2024, a 30-year low, according to crime stats released by the D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.

On Wednesday, Mayor Muriel Bowser criticized Trump’s use of the Guard as an “armed militia in the Nation’s Capital.”

“Crime has gone down in our city and it has gone down precipitously over the last two years because of a lot of hard work, changes to our public safety ecosystem, including changes to the law,” Bowser said.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

ABC News’ Karen Travers and Arthur Jones contributed to this report.

FBI searching John Bolton’s home

August 22, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Federal agents were seen Friday morning searching the residence of former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, ABC News has learned.

The federal agents, along with approximately six FBI vehicles, were seen at Bolton’s home for over an hour early this morning around 7 a.m.

Local Montgomery County police were observed by ABC News blocking both entrances to Bolton’s street but have since left and opened the street to through traffic.

Agents were observed coming in and out of the house, but it is unclear if anything was removed from inside Bolton’s home.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Trump says he will go out with police, military to patrol DC Thursday night as he pushes deployments in more cities

August 21, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced that he is “going out” with police and military in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to oversee the surge in federal law enforcement and National Guard, who are responding to what he says is a crime emergency in the district.

“I’m going to be going out tonight, I think, with the police and with the military, of course. So we’re going to do a job. The National Guard is great. They’ve done a fantastic job,” Trump told radio host Todd Starnes on Thursday.

The president mobilized the National Guard one week ago to assist the police, claiming crime was out of control. Officials have said Guard personnel are not making arrests, only helping to detain people briefly if necessary before handing them off to law enforcement.

Violent crime levels have decreased compared to years prior, down 26% since 2024, a 30-year low, according to crime stats released by the city’s Metropolitan Police Department.

Trump also told Starnes that the D.C. deployment was “sort of a test” and indicated that they would copy the model in other cities around America.

“It’s working unbelievably, much faster than we thought. We’ve arrested hundreds of criminals, hardline criminals, people that will never be any good,” Trump said.

The president said that he would put Memphis “early” on the list of next cities to patrol.

“And, you know, unfortunately, we have a lot of cities like that. But I love Tennessee. You know, I won Tennessee by many, many, many points. So it was a landslide, far greater than even, you know, the Republican. Republicans do good in Tennessee, but, I mean, my number was like 35 points, and I’m glad you tell me that I can put that early on a list, and I’m sure that people would love it,” he added.

In June, Trump deployed the California National Guard to Los Angeles amid protests against immigration raids carried out by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sued the administration, alleging that it violated the Posse Comitatus Act — an 1878 law that prevented the president from using the military as a domestic police force. A ruling has not been issued in the case.

Trump went on to say that he “straightened out crime in four days in DC.” The president also rebuffed criticism about his actions in the nation’s capital.

“And all I do, all they do is they say ‘He’s a dictator, he’s a dictator’ — the place, people are getting mugged all over the place, and they give you phony records, like, it’s wonderful and it’s worse than it ever was, but we’ve got it going. People are so happy. They’re going out to restaurants again,” he claimed.

Trump’s remarks came a day after Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller visited the National Guard at Union Station, where they were drowned out by boos from protesters.

Nearly 2,000 guardsmen from D.C. and six states have been mobilized to support Trump’s mission at the nation’s capital. They remain unarmed at this time, but officials have said they expect that to change.

The troops have been stationed outside many tourist hot spots, including the National Mall and Union Station, where crime incidents are known to be lower than other parts of the city. Trump and other officials have not given a timetable of when the troop deployment will end.

Vance on Wednesday dismissed crime statistics that showed incidents were lower in Union Station. He claimed that they do not report the full scope of crime in D.C.

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday criticized the Trump administration’s federal police surge in the nation’s capital, calling it politically motivated and disconnected from crime in the city.

“This doesn’t make sense. The numbers on the ground and the district don’t support 1,000 people from other states coming to Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.

White House tours to pause as ballroom construction starts, congressional offices say

August 21, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — The Trump administration will suspend public White House tours due to the construction that is scheduled to start soon on a new ballroom, multiple congressional offices told ABC News.

Spokespeople or the official websites for several of these members say they were told by the White House that the pause on these tours will start in September and tours could be postponed “indefinitely.”

Offices gave various reasons for the pause on tours, including “construction projects,” “extensive renovations” and “because of construction on the new White House ballroom.”

All tours of the White House are scheduled through a visitor’s representative or senator. About 10,000 people toured the White House each week during the Biden administration.

ABC News has reached out to the White House for comment. The Visit the White House page on the White House website doesn’t mention tours being paused, but greets visitors with an “Announcement Regarding Upcoming Expansion” about the ballroom project, which it says will begin in September.

The website for Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., reads: “Unfortunately, the Trump administration recently announced that it would pause all public tours of the White House beginning in September to accommodate construction projects. We apologize for any inconvenience to those who have submitted tour requests for this period, and will share further updates as soon as additional guidance is available.”

The website for Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., says: “Beginning on September 1st, 2025, the White House will be undergoing extensive renovations. As a result, all tours of the White House are postponed indefinitely. To read more information from the White House, please read their official statement. We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this may cause.”

Other congressional offices said they have received unclear instruction about tours when they’ve asked the administration.

“We haven’t gotten any real guidance from the WH – they haven’t published any new dates and when we’ve inquired they said that “availability has not yet been published as they continue to finalize the president’s schedule,'” one congressional aide said.

Another office said it had reached out to the White House after the Washington Post initially reported that tours would be suspended. Administration officials told their office coordinator that the pause was “because of construction on the new White House ballroom,” an aide said.

Yet another said that they were told White House tours were not immediately barred but rather would halt at the start of September.

A White House liaison “confirmed that we can still book tours through the end of August, but they have cancelled all September tours. They said that they’ll give more info after Labor Day,” an aide told ABC News.

A separate congressional office also said it was waiting for a more “formal announcement from the visitor’s office” about how to move forward with scheduling public East Wing tours.

Another office said its constituents whose September tour was cancelled included “military families who had been approved for tours timed to show their families the White House before they were transferred to new duty stations outside the region.”

“They’re pretty disappointed,” the aide added.

The Trump administration suspended tours for about a month at the start of his second term in January. First lady Melania Trump made the announcement when they reopened in late February.

ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel, Michelle Stoddart and Caleigh Bartash contributed to this report.

Satellite images show tent camps emptied as IDF expands Gaza City operation Israel began its offensive in Gaza City on Wednesday

August 21, 2025 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Recent satellite images taken over and around Gaza City point to preparations for the expanded military operation there and show signs that people sheltering there have already been displaced.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces said on Wednesday that the force had begun “preliminary operations and the first stages of the attack on Gaza City,” adding that the IDF is in control of the city’s outskirts.

The spokesperson said that the operation, which is dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots II,” is necessary to dislodge Hamas from Gaza City. The IDF announced on Wednesday the call-up of up to 60,000 reservists in connection with its expanded Gaza operation. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the IDF’s aim is to defeat Hamas and secure the release of the remaining hostages held by the group.

In a new statement on Thursday, the IDF said it had warned medical officials and aid organizations operating in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, to prepare to evacuate the population there to the south.

It comes nearly two weeks after Israel’s security cabinet approved plans offered up by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to occupy Gaza City amid growing international scrutiny over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

International aid organizations have already recorded the movement of civilians out of Gaza City. According to a report issued on Wednesday by the Site Management Cluster (SMC), recent Israeli military operations in Gaza City have prompted many there to depart.

An estimate from the SMC pointed to 16,831 “displacement movements” between Aug. 12 and Aug. 20, most of them from the east of Gaza City.

The Site Management Cluster is a joint humanitarian body that coordinates assistance for displaced people.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, U.N. human rights officials condemned the IDF’s escalation in Gaza City. The officials said in the report that at least 87 Palestinians had been reported killed in Gaza City since Aug. 8, including 25 children, a figure the officials said was likely an undercount due to the difficult circumstances on the ground.

Growing military presence

A Planet Labs satellite photo taken on Aug. 16 shows a new military presence on the eastern edge of Gaza City, two experts told ABC News.

Vanderbilt University professor Andres Gannon, a military technology expert, said the photo shows a range of vehicles including tanks and armored personnel carriers, as well as lines of plowed earth for concealment or protection.

Tony Reeves, founder of the private intelligence firm MAIAR, said he counted over 30 armored vehicles in the image along with equipment like bulldozers, as well as earthworks which he said could be used for protection.

Reeves also identified a building surrounded by armored vehicles which he identified as a likely headquarters, as well as vehicles possibly used for communications with their own fortifications.

“You protect important things when spooling up for battle,” Reeves said.

In a satellite image taken over the same area on Aug. 9, the military vehicles and earthworks are not visible.

Tent camps dismantled

Another Planet Labs image taken on Aug. 9 shows a large block and two smaller clusters of tents some 2,300 feet from the likely military position.

In an image from Aug. 17, the tents appear to have been mostly dismantled and many of the buildings surrounding them flattened.

In an image taken on Aug. 9, another large cluster of tents is visible about 1 mile from the likely military site.

On Aug. 17, many of the tents were no longer visible.

Some buildings apparently demolished

In a satellite photo taken on Aug. 8, a large number of demolished buildings are seen surrounding some that are still standing, including one large U-shaped facility identified in data from UNICEF as the Dar Al-Arqam Secondary Boys Private School.

In an Aug. 16 image, many of the buildings visible in the above image, including the boys’ school, are no longer standing.

Asked about the apparent demolition of buildings in Gaza, the IDF told ABC News, “There is no IDF doctrine that aims causing maximal damage to civilian infrastructure regardless of military necessity. IDF actions are based on military necessity and with accordance to international law.”

In response to a request for comment on internal displacement in Gaza, the IDF directed ABC News to a map issued on July 27 advising Gaza to leave areas including the northern Gaza Strip and the east of Gaza City for their own safety.

ABC News’ Dorit Long contributed to this report.

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