Politics

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Sunday that reforms by Israel after its deadly strike on an aid convoy in Gaza last week have to be verified over time to restore “confidence.”

Seven workers with the World Central Kitchen, or WCK, were killed in the attack, which Israel has described as a “terrible” mistake.

The Israeli government and military took some notable steps in response, including allowing more aid into Gaza and disciplining officers.

“We need to see change over time,” Kirby told ABC News “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “So, these announcements, Martha, they’re very welcomed and they’re good. And they are some of the things that the president asked specifically for Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu to do in terms of opening up additional crossings, allowing more trucks in, getting the deconfliction process in place.”

“But now we have to judge it over time, we have to see past the announcements and see if they actually meet these commitments over time, in a sustained and verifiable way, so that confidence can be restored not just between aid workers and [Israel’s forces], but between the people of Gaza and Israel,” Kirby continued.

Initially staunchly supportive of Israel after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that sparked the current war, President Joe Biden has grown more vocally critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza — including pressing Netanyahu last week after the strike on the WCK workers.

Israeli officials have repeatedly defended their military operations in Gaza, insisting they take steps to curb civilian deaths while allowing aid to flow in that cannot benefit Hamas.

In a move hailed by the White House, Netanyahu last week allowed for more aid to flow into Gaza after a conversation with Biden in which the president voiced his outrage over civilian deaths in Gaza.

“This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war,” an Israeli official told ABC News last week.

On Friday, the Israeli military released a report on its investigation into how the WCK strike occurred — finding that the decision to hit the aid convoy was a “serious violation” of their rules and noting that the team that carried it out lacked sufficient evidence to do so, twice violating operating rules.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces said they dismissed two officers, suspended two commanders and reprimanded three others.

“This is a tragedy. It was a terrible chain of errors, and it should never have happened. The IDF takes full responsibility for this regrettable loss of life,” an Israeli military spokesman told reporters on Friday.

Chef José Andrés, who founded WCK, has lambasted the conduct of Israel’s forces in Gaza as they pursue Hamas fighters and he has called for an outside investigation of the strike.

Kirby on Sunday reiterated the White House’s condolences for the WCK deaths, saying, “The president shares that grief and sorrow.”

Pressed by Raddatz on whether he also wants an independent investigation, Kirby said the administration is examining the results of Israel’s probe.

“We’re looking at the investigation right now, Martha. We haven’t come to any conclusions one way or another. This was an investigation that was done sort of akin to like an inspector general. So, it was outside the chain of command. But again, we’re working our way through that,” he said.

He declined to weigh in on the Israel military’s claim that because it was night, the WCK branding on the top of the vehicles wasn’t visible to drone operators just before the strike last week, which Andrés disputes.

“There were white cars. That logo is very colorful. Even in a dark night, I guarantee you that those drones could be seen,” Andrés said in a separate interview with Raddatz.

More broadly, Raddatz asked Kirby if Israel’s forces were following “legitimate rules of engagement” in destroying three vehicles after claiming that at one point they saw a suspected gunman in the convoy.

“I think again, we’re gonna have to work our way through this investigation and the decision-making process that goes in — not just one, but then three strikes and what the intelligence was telling them, at least what they believed it was,” Kirby said.

“We know from our own experience that the intelligence you get and you process and you analyze may not always be accurate, and you act on that intelligence,” he said.

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but what really matters is they make the deconfliction changes [to reduce mistakes] and the communication changes so that this doesn’t happen again,” Kirby said.

Aid groups like WCK could well curtail their work in Gaza, compounding the humanitarian problems there, in light of the Israeli strike, Kirby said.

“We’ve got to make sure that they feel safe and secure getting into Gaza and distributing that aid,” he said.

Overall, while the president and top administration officials have increasingly warned of potential consequences if Israel doesn’t shift its approach to civilians in Gaza, Kirby declined to preview what some of those actions could be, saying he didn’t want to get out ahead of Biden “or close down his decision space” when pressed by Raddatz.

However, Kirby indicated that the U.S. will continue to be a major partner in supplying military support to Israel for its defensive needs.

“Israel has a right to defend itself and I think it’s important to also remember, they live in a tough neighborhood. We’re all focused on the fight in Gaza as we rightly should be. But they’re facing threats from Iran and from Iran-backed groups all through the region. We’ve got to make sure that they’re ready for this,” he said.

Raddatz highlighted a timeline of growing casualties in Gaza alongside America’s growing criticism of Israel’s tactics.

“So why do you think anything will change?” she asked Kirby.

“I’m glad you brought that timeline up because it shows the degree, the growing degree, of frustration that we’ve had with the way these operations are being prosecuted and the way that the Israelis are acting on the ground in terms of civilian casualties,” Kirby insisted. “So we have been increasingly frustrated.”

ABC News’ Julia Cherner, Meredith Deliso, Meghan Mistry and Dana Savir contributed to this report.

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The Israeli drone strike that killed seven workers with chef José Andrés’ aid group, World Central Kitchen, is something he will “have to live with” for the rest of his life, he said in an exclusive new interview with ABC News.

“It is unforgivable,” Andrés told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz in a sit-down that aired on Sunday. “I will forever have to live with this.”

The celebrated restaurateur-turned-humanitarian, who founded World Central Kitchen, or WCK, in 2010, argued that Israel has participated in misconduct in its war against Hamas that goes far beyond the strike on his group, which Israeli officials have called a “terrible” mistake.

“This is not anymore about the seven men and women of World Central Kitchen that perished on this unfortunate event,” Andrés said.

“It’s been six months of targeting anything that seems — moves. This doesn’t seem a war against terror. This doesn’t seem anymore a war about defending Israel,” he said. “This really, at this point, seems it’s a war against humanity itself.”

The deaths of the seven WCK workers in Gaza on Monday brought immediate outcry from around the globe, with President Joe Biden saying he was “heartbroken” by the killings that added to an already high death toll.

Since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza, more than 33,000 people have been killed and about 76,000 others injured there, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.

Among the dead are nearly 200 humanitarian aid workers, the U.N. has said.

In Israel, at least 1,700 people have been killed and 8,700 others injured, according to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The deaths of the WCK workers prompted the Biden administration to seemingly shift its stance on Israel’s campaign against Hamas. In a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the president warned the Israeli leader of U.S. policy changes if Israel didn’t take steps to better protect civilians and aid workers.

Andrés, who spoke with Biden the day after the killings, said on “This Week” that he pushed the president to change the administration’s strategy toward Israel.

Addressing Biden directly, Andrés said that “you can — and America will stand behind you — support the right of Israel to defend themselves on this massive attack.”

“But at the same time, I would say that President Biden also can be defending and supporting the right of Palestinians not to die, just trying to be getting a piece of bread,” he said.

“I think both truths can live in the same place. You can be a friend of Israel and at the same time you can be telling your partner in the Middle East, ‘You cannot be conducting war in such a way,'” he added.

Andrés was especially critical of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in its pursuit of Hamas fighters, saying Israel cannot be “destroying every building, every hospital, every school, every university.”

Israeli officials have repeatedly defended their military operations in Gaza, insisting they take steps to curb civilian deaths while allowing aid to flow in that cannot benefit Hamas.

But Andrés lambasted Israel’s forces in his interview on “This Week.”

“You cannot be destroying just the future for decades of more than 2 million Palestinians and in the process leaving them hungry, leaving them without water,” he said.

Andrés also rebuked the Biden administration’s supply of weapons to its longtime ally.

“What the White House did this week … It seemed like a very significant shift, saying there would be consequences if they didn’t allow essentially more humanitarian aid and take more care of civilian lives. Were you satisfied with that statement?” Raddatz asked.

“I think ‘there will be consequences’ is part of the problem,” Andrés responded. “[There] should be already consequences. Support Israel right to defend itself, but you cannot be just giving weapons that they are [using to kill] American citizens who are humanitarians. You can be supporting Israel’s right to defend themselves but, at the same time, you can be asking Israel to conduct themselves at the highest possible human level.”

On Friday, the Israeli military released a report on its investigation into how the WCK strike occurred — finding that the decision to hit the aid convoy was a “serious violation” of their rules and noting that the team that carried it out lacked sufficient evidence to do so, twice violating operating rules.

In response, the Israel Defense Forces said they dismissed two officers, suspended two commanders and reprimanded three others.

“This is a tragedy. It was a terrible chain of errors, and it should never have happened. The IDF takes full responsibility for this regrettable loss of life,” an Israeli military spokesman told reporters on Friday.

While Andrés told Raddatz he was grateful for Israel’s speed in investigating how the strike happened, he echoed WCK’s calls for an independent investigation.

“I would say that the perpetrator cannot be investigating himself,” he said. “I would say we need more information. We need to see better quality videos. We need to be saying, ‘What was the conversations, the radio conversation between the different officers and soldiers in charge of saying that those cars were a target because they were an imminent threat?'”

“Those weapons can only be used with very sophisticated drones, and we all know that those drones have high capabilities day and night with cameras that can see in very powerful way what’s going on,” he said.

The Israeli military’s report admitted WCK had followed proper protocols in coordinating their convoy’s movements the night of the strike but that somewhere along the chain of command, those communications were not properly passed along.

The report also claimed that because it was night, the WCK branding on the top of the vehicles wasn’t visible to drone operators, which Andrés disputed.

“There were white cars. That logo is very colorful. Even in a dark night, I guarantee you that those drones could be seen,” he said.

Pressed by Raddatz on Israeli claims that at one point the military says they saw what they thought was a Hamas operative firing from an aid truck in the convoy, Andrés argued that the Israeli protocols and rules of engagement need to change.

“Every time something happens, we cannot just be bringing Hamas into the question. I think IDF knows better than anybody that [it] can be a better army,” Andrés said. “There’s way too many cases now of humanitarians dying … many civilians, women, children that the only thing they did was trying to get close by to somewhere that they were giving them flour or bread.”

In an interview with Reuters following the strike, Andrés alleged that the WCK convoy was targeted “systematically, car by car.”

Asked by Raddatz whether he still stands by that accusation, Andrés said he does.

“The precision, the continuous following over 1.8 kilometers until the three cars were totally destroyed and all the members inside those three. Obviously, this was … targeted,” he said. “We could argue that the first one, let’s say, was a mistake. The second? The third?”

But pressed on whether or not he believes the workers were singled out specifically for being members of the WCK, Andrés clarified that he doesn’t “want to believe” that is the case while noting that, either way, there needs to be more protection for non-combatants in Gaza.

“Civilians must be protected. Humanitarian organizations must be protected,” Andrés said. “They are people that have names and last names. They are people that matter. They cannot be voiceless. They cannot be ghosts of wars that don’t make sense.”

Andrés said Israeli’s military has “a lot of questions to ask themselves” in the wake of the attack.

“Let’s make sure that the IDF has a real reckoning on how they conduct war. Who are the enemy? Who really are they fighting?” he said.

Andrés, who has been on the ground in Gaza working alongside WCK first responders, compared what he’s seen there — and Israel’s approach to the war — to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

“I’ve seen firsthand what has been happening in Ukraine: entire towns and cities being wiped out by Russia and by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. But Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing this exactly the same,” Andrés contended.

He noted that out of the tens of thousands of dead in Gaza, it’s the deaths of the WCK workers that may ultimately spur change from Israel, which has taken some notable steps since the strike to allow in more aid to the Palestinian territory and to chastise military officials.

Andrés said on “This Week” that the strike had also shined a spotlight on a broader, more awful situation.

“I’m sad that it had to be the killing of six foreigners that brings all this outrage,” he said, referring to the WCK workers, one of whom was Palestinian.

“Sometimes history is written, unfortunately, in moments like this. But if there’s anything … the lives of these six heroes, brave souls, can bring, it is the real understanding of what’s really happening in Gaza,” Andrés said.

“We cannot be winning a war, destroying the lifehoods of 2 million people,” he added. “This is not a way to create safety for Israel. This is not the way to create safety for the Middle East. This is not the way to create safety for a better tomorrow.”

“I don’t believe in higher walls. I believe in longer tables,” Andrés said. “What is good for me must be good for you.”

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — There could be potential general election ballot access concerns for President Joe Biden in Ohio, the state’s Secretary of State’s office said in a letter to Ohio Democratic Chair Liz Walters on Friday.

In the letter, obtained by ABC News, legal counsel for Secretary of State Frank LaRose sought clarification for “an apparent conflict in Ohio law” between the Democratic National Committee’s nominating process and the deadline by which the party’s presidential nominee must be certified to the Secretary of State’s office.

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to convene on Aug. 19, which will take place more than a week after the Aug. 7 deadline to certify a presidential candidate in Ohio, the office flagged according to state code, which would create a problem for Biden’s eligibility.

“I am left to conclude that the Democratic National Committee must either move up its nominating convention or the Ohio General Assembly must act by May 9, 2024 (90 days prior to a new law’s effective date) to create an exception to this statutory requirement,” legal counsel Paul Disantis wrote in the letter, requesting a quick response on a solution to become compliant with state law.

The Ohio Democratic Party confirmed to ABC News that they received the letter and are in the process of reviewing it.

Copied on the letter were top Ohio Democrats: Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo and Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio.

Ohio, a former battleground state, has shifted right in recent years. They elected former President Donald Trump by eight points in both 2016 and 2020.

“We’re monitoring the situation in Ohio and we’re confident that Joe Biden will be on the ballot in all 50 states,” a Biden campaign spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.

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(NEW YORK) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday he is still “listening” to arguments about the assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to “hear every side,” and suggested, without evidence, that prosecutions of the rioters have been politically motivated.

Kennedy, who is running for president as an independent, also expressed skepticism that the events that day constituted an “insurrection.” He said that “reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection.”

The comments were part of a lengthy statement Kennedy released to try to “clarify” his views on Jan. 6 — an apparent response to the backlash he received for a fundraising email his team sent calling Jan. 6 defendants “activists.”

Kennedy’s campaign blamed an outside vendor for the email, which was blasted to supporters on Thursday by “Team Kennedy” and stirred controversy after NBC News reported on it. A campaign spokesperson said they’ve since stopped working with the vendor.

“That statement was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” a spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. “It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process. The campaign has terminated its contract with this vendor. Anybody who violated the law on Jan. 6 should be subject to appropriate criminal and/or civil penalties.”

But Friday’s statement, rather than clarifying Kennedy’s stance on Jan. 6, instead said he is still forming an opinion about what happened that day and the future of those imprisoned for taking part.

He said that as president, he would appoint a special counsel to “investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends in this case, and I will right any wrongs that we discover.”

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 1,265 defendants across nearly all 50 states and Washington, according to data released in January by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. They secured sentences of incarceration for more than 460 people, and hundreds of others have been sentenced for lesser offenses to periods of home detention or probation.

“I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment,” Kennedy said. “That would fit a disturbing pattern of the weaponization of government agencies – the DoJ, the IRS, the SEC, the FBI, etc. – against political opponents.”

While Kennedy said he has not “examined the evidence in detail,” he claimed some have observed the protesters “carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest ‘peacefully.'”

But according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., more than 200 people have pleaded guilty to felonies that include assaults on federal officers, obstructing law enforcement and seditious conspiracy. Plus, 123 people had been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.

There is also video evidence of rioters carrying everything from stun guns, knives and batons to chemical irritants spray, sticks or even flags used to stab or strike any number of officers trying to protect the building that day.

In an updated statement Friday night, Kennedy acknowledged that his claim that the Jan. 6 rioters did not carry weapons was not true.

“My understanding that none of the January 6 rioters who invaded the capitol were carrying firearms was incorrect,” he said. “Several have been convicted of carrying firearms into the Capitol building. Others assaulted Capitol police with pepper spray, bludgeons, and other makeshift weapons,” he said in the statement. “This behavior is inexcusable. I have never minimized or dismissed the seriousness of the riot or any crime committed on that day.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the department’s integrity in prosecuting these cases and characterized Jan. 6 as “an unprecedented attack on the cornerstone of our system of government: the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.”

“In the ongoing Jan. 6 investigations and prosecutions led by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matt Graves and Special Counsel Jack Smith, the Justice Department is abiding by the longstanding norms that ensure independence and integrity of our investigations,” Garland said in January as he marked the three-year anniversary of the attack. “We are following the facts and the law wherever they lead. We are enforcing the law without fear or favor. We are honoring our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in our country. We are upholding the rule of law, and we are protecting the American people.”

In an interview last month on Fox News, Kennedy was asked whether he would pardon any Jan. 6 defendants.

“That’s not something I would comment on until I’m president of the United States,” he said, later adding, “I would look at any individual cases.”

ABC News’ Alexander Mallin and Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — After House Republicans introduced legislation to rename an airport outside of Washington, D.C., after former President Donald Trump, a group of House Democrats are now proposing a bill to rename a federal prison in Miami after Trump.

The legislation, which would rename the Miami Federal Correctional Institution in Florida as the “Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution,” was officially filed on Wednesday, April 3.

The move comes just days after House Republicans introduced a bill to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the former president. The renaming efforts come in an election year when many Republicans seek to honor the presumptive nominee, while Democrats work to undercut him.

Reps. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and John Garamendi, D-Calif., are co-sponsors of the bill.

“Everyone knows President Trump loves to write his name in gold letters on all his buildings. But he’s never had his name on a federal building before and as a public servant I just want to help the former president. Help us make that dream a reality,” Moskowitz joked in a statement released Friday.

After Republicans introduced the legislation to name the airport located outside the nation’s capital after Trump, Connolly floated renaming a prison after Trump.

“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison,” Connolly wrote on X. Trump denies wrongdoing in his cases stemming from the charges.

Connolly referenced his suggestion in a statement on Friday, saying “it is only right that the closest federal prison to Mar-a-Lago should bear his name.” The prison, which has just more than 1,000 inmates, is located about 90 miles south of Mar-a-Lago.

“I hope our Republican friends will join us in bestowing upon Donald J. Trump the only honor he truly deserves,” Connolly added.

The Democrats’ bill is not likely to go far in the GOP-controlled House — just as the Republicans’ plan to rename Dulles after Trump will likely die in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

The Bureau of Prisons, which oversees the Miami federal prison, declined to comment on the bill.

ABC News has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

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(WASHINGTON) — Former first lady Melania Trump will be headlining a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser later this month for Log Cabin Republicans, the largest organization representing LGBT conservatives in the United States.

It’s a rare appearance at a fundraising event by the former first lady, who has mostly stayed away from former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign trail and instead only occasionally been seen at private events at his properties.

The fundraiser, set for April 20, is for the benefit of Log Cabin Republican’s 501(c)(4) nonprofit arm and is not a Trump campaign event. Politico was first to report the news.

But it’s co-hosted by a slew of longtime Donald Trump allies and prominent Republican donors, including former U.S. ambassador to Germany and Trump intelligence official, Richard Grenell as well as former President of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Bill White, according to an invitation to the event obtained by ABC News.

Late Fox News CEO Roger Ailes’ widow Elizabeth Ailes, longtime Republican donor Saul Fox and Deborah Magowan, the wife of former Giants Chairman Peter Magowan, are also among co-hosts, the invitation shows.

According to the invitation, each ticket costs $10,000.

“We’re very excited and honored that former first lady Melania Trump will be our guest of honor for this very special evening,” said White, one of the co-hosts and a longtime friend of Trump. “She’s been very dedicated and extremely supportive of the mission of Log Cabin Republicans, and I think that’s a very beautiful message.”

“I think it’s important to see how many gay conservatives are working so hard to have their voice heard,” White continued.

White said he expects that Melania Trump’s participation will help make the event a “great success” and will raise significant funds for the Log Cabin Republicans.

Melania Trump has maintained a close relationship with Log Cabin Republicans over the years, headlining their annual gala at Mar-a-Lago in 2021 and receiving the group’s Spirit of Lincoln award, for her role in “helping children reach their full potential” and “championing a more inclusive Republican Party.”

In 2022, Donald Trump himself headlined Log Cabin Republicans’ Spirit of Lincoln gala held at Mar-a-Lago, where he told the audience, “we are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard.”

Last month, Melania Trump made another rare public appearance when she joined her husband at a polling place in Palm Beach, Florida — her first public appearance with Trump this election cycle.

Asked by a reporter if she would be joining the former president on the campaign trail, the former first lady simply smiled and said, “stay tuned,” but nothing more.

In December, Melania Trump delivered remarks at a naturalization ceremony at the National Archives in Washington, but her husband did not attend the event with her.

In a September interview with NBC News, when the former president was asked about his wife campaigning with him, he said she’d be out there “soon” and “at appropriate time,” but added he likes to “keep her away.”

“She’s right now with Barron in school,” Donald Trump said. “She loves that boy. She’s very popular, she actually is. And she’ll be with us. She’s very, very supportive.”

“Pretty soon, when it’s appropriate, but pretty soon,” he added. “She’s a private person, a great person, very confident person. And she loves our country very much. She’ll be — she’ll be at the appropriate time.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden said Friday that Israel is responding to his demand for actions to limit humanitarian suffering in Gaza — changes the White House said need to be “meaningful” in order for Israel to avoid a change in U.S. support.

“I asked them to do what they’re doing,” Biden said when asked by a reporter if he had threatened to stop U.S. military aid to Israel. Biden spoke as he left the White House to survey the wreckage from last week’s bridge collapse in Baltimore.

It was his first on-camera comment on his tense phone call Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which Biden warned the U.S. would reconsider its policy approach if Israel didn’t take concrete steps to better protect civilians and aid workers after Israeli strikes killed seven food relief workers with the World Central Kitchen.

Hours after the conversation, Israel said it will open the Erez crossing on the northern border of Gaza with Israel as well as allow temporary delivery of aid through the Ashdod port, where most aid comes through and is then trucked to Erez, so more humanitarian assistance can cross into Gaza. Israel also said it would increase the amount of Jordanian aid coming in through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Earlier Friday, White House spokesman Kirby was pressed by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos if the changes announced so far by Israel were enough to meet Biden’s demands.

“Well, we’re going to have to watch and see where they go from here, George,” Kirby responded on “Good Morning America,” calling the actions taken overnight “good starts.”

“But we’ve got to see them execute and implement those things over time,” the National Security Council spokesman said, saying Biden was clear with Netanyahu that the U.S. needs to see “meaningful changes.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a similar message as he spoke at a U.S.-European Union Trade and Technology Council news conference in Belgium on Friday.

“These are positive developments, but the real test is results and that’s what we’re looking to see in the coming days and in the coming weeks,” Blinken said, adding the U.S. would specifically be watching the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza on a sustained basis and whether food insecurity measurements are reversed. International organizations have warned of a growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in particular over food insecurity.

But officials continued to decline to state what specific consequences Israel would face if it doesn’t meet U.S. requests, like whether the U.S. would consider conditioning military aid to Israel.

“I wouldn’t close down decision space for the president but he was very clear with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Kirby said on “GMA.” “We’ve got to see some changes. We’ve got to see the humanitarian situation improve in Gaza or otherwise we will have to take a look at our own policy and make decisions and change the way that we’re supporting Israel.”

US reviewing the IDF’s World Central Kitchen report

Another development Friday was the Israel Defense Forces’ release of a report on its investigation into the World Central Kitchen incident. Seven aid workers were killed in multiple strikes as their convoy traveled along a humanitarian route in central Gaza, despite their movements having been coordinated with the IDF.

The IDF admitted there was a “misjudgment” made on the evening of the strikes in violation of their standard procedures, including the misidentification of an aid worker as a Hamas gunman and misclassification of the event. Two IDF commanders were fired as a result.

World Central Kitchen, in a statement Friday, was highly critical of the report. The food charity, led by chef José Andrés, said the IDF can’t “credibly investigate its own failures in Gaza” and again called for an independent investigation.

Kirby, who also appeared on NBC’s “Today” program on Friday, said the U.S. would defer judgment on whether there should be an independent commission until they examine the initial findings by Israel.

“We’re going to work our way through that investigation ourselves and take a look and see what we think of their findings and conclusions before we make any judgment going forward,” Kirby said.

He continued, “This is an agency of the Israeli government that has conducted independent investigations before. … They’ve done this responsibly in the past but we’ll reserve judgment until we have a chance to go through those findings.”

Leaving Belgium, Blinken also said the administration was reviewing the document carefully and would discuss its conclusions with Israeli officials and aid organizations.

“It’s very important that Israel is taking full responsibility for this incident. It’s also important that it appears to be taking steps to hold those responsible accountable,” Blinken said. “Even more important is making sure that steps are taken going forward to ensure that something like this can never happen again.”

Before the report’s release, however, Blinken had said it was “critical” there be “an independent, thorough, fully publicized investigation into the killing of the World Central Kitchen team.”

The World Central Kitchen incident, he said, was part of a “larger challenge that we’ve seen throughout [the conflict] which is the horrific number of children, women, men — innocent children, women, and men — who have been killed through the course of the military operations.”

More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. More than 1,200 people were killed in Israel when Hamas launched a surprise terror attack on Oct. 7, according to Israeli authorities.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford, Chris Boccia, Ellie Kaufman and Joseph Simonetti contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Just weeks into his tenure as chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Whatley pitched to voters something that former President Donald Trump has spoken against consistently throughout the campaign trail: mail-in voting.

“We need to build a national early-vote program that is going to communicate with [voters] through door knocks, through phone calls, through mail, through digital, through data. But we can’t wait until the week before the election,” Whatley said at the New York Republican State Committee’s annual gala Thursday night — one of his first public speeches since accepting the role last month.

“Voters can vote early. They can vote on Election Day. They can vote by mail. Do I care how they vote? No, I do not. I care that they vote,” the Trump-backed chairman continued.

Despite Trump’s many deprecatory comments regarding mail-in voting, it’s a plan that Republican party leaders now seem to be embracing.

Lara Trump, Trump’s daughter-in-law whom he tapped to serve as RNC co-chair, has publicly supported early voting and vote-by-mail efforts, claiming Trump would switch his tune because of the election security initiatives the RNC was working on.

“We have to start encouraging Republican voters to do things like voting early, trust mail-in voting. These are ways that we actually can have a big lead as we head into Election Day. And these are things that traditionally Republicans have sort of shied away from,” Lara Trump said in a NBC News interview, adding “We’re embracing it this election cycle.”

In June, the RNC launched a “Bank Your Vote” initiative under the leadership of former Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel in an effort to combat Republican distrust in early voting after doubt — perpetuated by Trump — was cast on the results of the 2020 presidential election

Though the former president has endorsed the Bank Your Vote initiative his RNC leadership is still touting, at campaign events he routinely disparages mail-in voting and has made unfounded claims about the process which he claims, in part, led to his 2020 election loss.

“Mail-in voting is totally corrupt. Get that through your head. It has to be,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan in February, repeating unfounded claims about mail-in voting.

“Anytime the mail is involved, you’re going to have cheating,” Trump again falsely claimed during an interview with GB News’ Nigel Farage last month.

Trump has been more accepting of early in-person voting in recent months, urging supporters in South Carolina and New Hampshire — where early voting is already underway — to go out and vote. Still, his messaging hints at election denialism.

“I will secure our elections. We are going to secure our elections. Our goal will be one-day voting with paper ballots — very simple — and a voter ID, but until then, Republicans must win. Landslide. We want it to be too big, too big to rig,” Trump said at an April 2 rally in Wisconsin, where he continued to falsely claim he won the state in 2020.

Whatley says he’s had several conversations with the former president about “stopping the steal” that MAGA Republicans have posited since 2020.

“First off, we are going to make sure in every single state that we have the right rules of the road, we have the right laws and regulations in place to ensure a fair election. We are going to work with state legislators, we are going to work with the regulators whether it’s a secretary of state or a board of elections and we’re going to make sure that we have those rules of the road set right. And if those folks won’t work with us and we can’t get it done, we’re gonna go to court,” he said Thursday.

“As the general counsel of the RNC and now the chair, I have filed over 80 lawsuits in 24 states around the country to make sure that it is going to be easy to vote and hard to cheat. We are also going to make sure that anytime a vote is cast or a vote is counted, we are in the room.”

Trump’s critics have pointed to his rhetoric on election security as reasons why Republicans have struggled to gain leads over Democrats heading into Election Day.

Now, mixed messaging from the party and its projected nominee could prevent some Republicans already skeptical of early voting practices from changing their ways, but some lawmakers say it’s a necessary measure toward winning elections to implement the change they want to see.

“Embrace voting as it is. Now, I like voting on Election Day … when I became a United States senator, I had to vote absentee,” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said at Trump’s rally to muted claps. “We need to embrace that. We can’t afford to have a miserable Election Day on November and now have our votes already banked.”

Former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin espoused similar sentiments with an air of sober reluctance at Thursday night’s gala.

“I totally oppose universal mail-in balloting across the country. I believe that there shouldn’t be ballot harvesting anywhere in any state in this country. There should be voter ID in every state in this country. But if the Democrats in Pennsylvania are going to legalize universal mail-in balloting, we have to do it better than the Democrats to the point that they regret legalizing it in the first place or we won’t win these elections.”

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Friday visited the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

During his visit he received an operational briefing on the recovery efforts and an aerial tour aboard Marine One of the wreckage still in the Patapsco River.

Biden met with first responders to thank them for their brave efforts during the collapse. Later Friday, he was scheduled to meet with family members of the six workers killed in the bridge disaster.

The container ship Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge at about 1:30 a.m. on March 26, partially collapsing the bridge, officials in Maryland said.

Six construction workers are believed to have fallen from the collapsing bridge into the frigid waters of the Patapsco River. The bodies of two of the missing workers have since been recovered, while four remain unaccounted for and are presumed dead, officials said.

“They were hard workers laboring in the middle of the night to repair potholes on a bridge that tens of thousands of travelers crossed every day,” Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Thursday.

Biden was joined by Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other Baltimore officials during his visit.

Following the tragic collapse, Biden pledged to fully support Baltimore’s rebuilding efforts. He said it’s his “intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstruction of that bridge.”

The White House has since approved $60 million in emergency funding to assist in the initial mobilization and debris recovery efforts for Baltimore. While Moore expressed gratitude for the collective rallying behind the city, he said there is a “very long road ahead” for Baltimore and the reconstruction will be an “incredibly complex job.”

“The president is continuing to lead a whole-of-government approach in responding to the bridge collapse, as the president said within hours of the collapse, this administration will be with the people of Baltimore, every step of the way,” Jean-Pierre said during the Thursday briefing.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge has an annual traffic volume of 11.3 million vehicles, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority. The Port of Baltimore is the nation’s 17th largest in annual total tonnage of cargo as of 2021 and generates 15,300 direct jobs, with nearly 140,000 jobs connected to port activities, Moore said in a statement in February.

Jean-Pierre has discussed new efforts by the government to help support the local economy amid recovery.

“Today, the SBA [Small Business Administration] is launching two business recovery centers in Baltimore County. These centers will support impacted business owners’ income … in completing their disaster loan applications,” Jean-Pierre said Monday. “The Department of Labor is working with local and state officials to determine how to assist workers out of work due to closure of the port.”

The crash appeared to be accidental, not intentional, officials have said.

The Dali is a Singapore-flagged, 984-foot container ship. The Singaporean company that operates the ship should have “limited liability” in the aftermath of the crash, lawyers representing the company said in a lawsuit filed Monday.

“The casualty was not due to any fault, neglect, or want of care on the part of Petitioners, the Vessel, or persons or entities for whose petitioners may be responsible,” court documents filed in Maryland federal court say.

The White House continues to emphasize the unified approach to recovery efforts amid the ongoing investigation.

“President Biden and his team are working with Governor Moore, the congressional delegation, Mayor [Brandon] Scott, and numerous state and local officials to reopen the port, rebuild the bridge and support the people of Baltimore through the unified command,” Jean-Pierre said during a briefing Monday.

A small temporary channel has been opened for boats that are working on the bridge response, officials said.

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(WASHINGTON) — On Dec. 14, 2020, five weeks after the 2020 presidential election, a group of 11 Republicans convened at the state Republican Party headquarters in Phoenix and signed documents they claimed on social media were the legitimate representations of the state’s electoral votes.

They called it “The Signing.”

“For President Donald J. Trump of the state of Florida, number of votes: 11,” one of the alleged fake electors said in a video posted on X by the Republican Party of Arizona. “Vice President Michael R. Pence of the state of Indiana, number of votes: 11.”

Now, more than three years later, those signers appear to be at the center of a probe by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat who recently said in public that her office “will announce something in the relatively near future.”

If Mayes takes action against the group, Arizona will become the fourth state to file criminal charges against the so-called “fake electors” who allegedly announced they were ready to pledge electoral votes to Donald Trump in their respective states during the 2020 election, despite Joe Biden winning those states.

Most recently, in December, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford announced felony charges against six alleged “fake electors” in that state. In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel similarly charged 16 “alternate electors” in July for conspiracy to commit forgery, among other charges. And in Georgia, three such “fake electors” were among the 18 co-defendants charged, along with Trump, in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state.

All defendants charged in all three probes have pleaded not guilty, with Georgia defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis and Scott Hall subsequently taking plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify in that case. In Michigan, the attorney general dropped all charges against defendant Jim Renner in exchange for his cooperation.

ABC News previously reported that Trump’s Georgia co-defendant Michael Roman was subpoenaed as part of the Arizona probe and that Chesebro sat for a voluntary interview with Arizona investigators in recent weeks.

‘The Signing’
The 11 Republicans who met in December 2020 included then-Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, two Republican lawmakers, and a top official with the Republican National Committee. During the publicly documented meeting, they signed documents that falsely claimed they were Arizona’s rightful electors.

“Today, Arizona’s 11 Republican presidential electors met to cast their votes for President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence,” the Arizona GOP tweeted in December 2020. “With ongoing legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election still being heard in the courts across the country holding hearings on election fraud and voting irregularities, it is imperative that the proper elections are counted by Congress.”

All 11 alleged fake electors were also part of a legal challenge in the state that sought to challenge the election results based on allegations of voter fraud.

The case was thrown out by a judge who called their claims of election fraud “sorely wanting of relevant or reliable evidence.”

Pressure from the president
While the 11 Republicans were making their false claims, Trump and his allies were pressuring Arizona election officials about the election results.

ABC News previously reported that Trump attempted to pressure then-Gov. Doug Ducey to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, and that Trump asked then-Vice President Mike Pence to pressure Ducey to find fraudulent votes in the state, according to sources. Although Pence called Ducey multiple times in the aftermath of the election, he did not follow through with Trump’s instructions to pressure him, sources said.

Trump also pressured Rusty Bowers, then the Arizona House speaker, according to Bowers’ testimony before the House Jan 6. Committee.

Trump called Bowers in December 2020 “for the purpose of soliciting, requesting, and importuning Bowers to unlawfully appoint presidential electors from Arizona,” the committee said.

“As I told you, Mr. President, I voted for you. I worked for you, campaigned for you. I just won’t do anything illegal for you,” Bowers recalled telling Trump.

John Eastman, a pro-Trump attorney who is a co-defendant in the Georgia case, also called Bowers on Jan. 4, 2021, and asked him to unlawfully appoint presidential electors in Arizona, Bowers said.

Claims of election fraud
Bowers also told the Jan. 6 Committee that he received calls from Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani about election fraud in the state.

“I was insistent that I had to have proof, real proof, judicial level,” Bowers testified. “That’s the kind of proof I’m talking about. And the president said, ‘Rudy, give the man what he wants.'”

Asked by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl if Giuliani ever provided that evidence, Bowers said, “He never gave us anything. No names, no data, nothing.”

Bowers also said that Giuliani and Ellis flew to Phoenix and met with him and other Arizona lawmakers, and asked them to convene the legislature to investigate their unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.

Mayes, the Arizona attorney general, has not commented on whether her probe goes beyond the 11 alleged fake electors.

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