Israeli military issues full evacuation order for all of Gaza City
A boy holds one of the leaflets dropped by the Israeli military in Gaza City, on September 9, 2025, urging evacuation south to al-Mawasi. (Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(GAZA, JERUSALEM and LONDON) — Israel on Tuesday issued an order calling for residents of Gaza City to evacuate, saying the Israeli military will operate “with great force” within the city.
“Staying in the city is extremely dangerous,” Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, said on social media.
The order and warnings followed an approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of a plan to seize Gaza City, the largest city in the under-siege enclave. Israel began ground operations within the city about a week ago.
Israeli officials said the planned seizure is part of its military objective to eliminate Hamas, the terrorist organization that it’s been fighting in Gaza since October 2023.
Despite the severe situation and evacuation warnings, there are still a significant number of residents who remain in the city who have cited different reasons for staying, including not being able to afford the costs of evacuation and transportation.
Others told ABC News they’ve stayed because they’ve heard there’s a severe shortage of space for tents in the humanitarian zone — or that they don’t know if they would be safe after an evacuation.
Adraee said residents of Gaza City and “all its neighorhoods” should evacuate immediately. They should travel south toward Al-Mawasi, a coastal area that’s been designated as a humanitarian zone, he said.
The evacuation order followed a warning issued on Monday by Netanyahu. In a video message posted on Telegram, he spoke directly to the residents of the city.
“Listen carefully: You have been warned,” Netanyahu said. “Leave now.”
Viacheslav Onyshchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russian and Ukrainian negotiating teams will again meet in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed, for the first such meeting since President Donald Trump set a 50-day deadline for a ceasefire to be reached.
In his nightly video address on Monday, Zelenskyy said he spoke with Rustem Umerov — the former defense minister who is now heading Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council — on Monday, to discuss upcoming prisoner swaps and the next round of talks with Moscow.
“Umerov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday,” the president said. “More details will follow tomorrow.”
Russia’s state TASS news agency, meanwhile, quoted a source in Turkey who also said the talks would be held on Wednesday. The state-owned RIA news agency — also quoting a source — said the negotiations would stretch over Thursday and Friday.
This week’s meeting will be the third recent round of talks between the two combatants, previous meetings having been held in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2. Before that, the two sides had not met directly since the opening weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.
The May and June talks led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers, but any breakthrough on a ceasefire or eventual peace deal has proved elusive — despite continued pressure from the Trump administration.
The White House is pushing for an immediate ceasefire, a stance backed by Ukraine. But Russia has so far dodged committing to the proposal, with President Vladimir Putin saying various issues need to be addressed before the fighting can be paused.
Trump has appeared in recent months increasingly frustrated by Russia’s intransigence, plus by its nightly drone and missile strikes across Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Trump set a 50-day deadline for Moscow to agree to a ceasefire, threatening fresh sanctions and tariffs if it failed to do so. Trump also announced new military support for Kyiv, with a particular focus on strengthening Ukraine’s anti-drone and anti-missile defenses.
On Monday, Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s goals from the coming talks would be “the return of prisoners, the return of children who were abducted by Russia and the preparation of the leaders’ meeting,” the last referring to his repeated offers of an in-person meeting with Putin.
In a Tuesday social media post, Zelenskyy said Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. Representatives from Ukrainian intelligence, its Foreign Ministry and the president’s office will also attend, he said.
“Our position is fully transparent,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine never wanted this war and it is Russia that must end the war that it started.”
On Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed Trump’s ultimatum — issued earlier this month — for Russia to agree to a ceasefire within 50 days or face more sanctions.
“Everyone is already used to his rather tough and straightforward rhetoric,” Peskov told journalists. “At the same time, he confirms his intentions to do everything possible to contribute to peaceful settlement.”
“In fact, President Putin has repeatedly spoken about his desire to transfer Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful route as soon as possible,” Peskov added. “This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy. And, most likely, more and more people in Washington understand this.”
As to a possible meeting between Trump and Putin, Peskov replied, “It is possible, and over time it will definitely happen. It is necessary.”
“Perhaps it will be necessary for the fixation of some major agreements, which will be achieved over time, after a huge amount of work has been done,” he continued. “But this time has not yet come. This work is yet to be done.”
“Russia is ready to move fast,” Peskov said. “The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious, they do not change. But the process depends not only on us.”
Expectations for this week’s talks are not high in Ukraine, according to Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body’s foreign affairs committee.
“I don’t expect anything serious from these negotiations,” Merezhko told ABC News.
“In my opinion, Russia will be using these negotiations to prolong offensive operations during summer,” he added. “Putin has not given up his goal to subjugate the whole of Ukraine and is not interested in serious negotiations.”
“Putin will use these 50 days to the maximum,” Merezhko added.
(LONDON) — Hospitals in the Gaza Strip have recorded the deaths of 15 people, including four children, due to famine and malnutrition over the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health said Tuesday.
That brings the total number of deaths from famine and malnutrition since the war began to 101, which includes 80 children, according to the health ministry.
BUDAPEST — Russia launched four missiles and 136 drones into Ukraine overnight into Monday morning, according to Ukraine’s air force, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would provide Kyiv with more Patriot surface-to-air systems to help defend against Russia’s nightly bombardments.
Ukraine’s air force said in a post to Telegram that 108 drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized during the latest attack, with 28 drones impacting in 10 locations. Falling debris from downed drones was reported in four locations, the air force said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its forces downed 11 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday morning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is continuing the long-range bombardment of Ukrainian cities despite criticism from Trump, whose months-long push for a ceasefire and eventual peace deal has thus far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
Ahead of an expected announcement on his Ukraine-Russia policy on Monday, Trump said Sunday that the U.S. would provide more “sophisticated” equipment to aid Kyiv in its defense against Russian attacks.
Trump is also expected to meet with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
“We basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated military equipment,” Trump told reporters on Sunday. “They’re going to pay us 100% for them, and that’s the way we want it,” Trump said.
Asked if he would still send 10 Patriot missiles to Ukraine — as announced last week — the president said the number has not been finalized but that Kyiv would be receiving more aid.
“I haven’t agreed on the number yet, but they’re going to have some because they do need protection,” he said.
“But the European Union is paying for it,” Trump added. “We’re not paying anything for it, but we will send it. It will be business for us, and we will send them Patriots, which they desperately need, because Putin really surprised a lot of people.”
“He talks nice and then he bombs everybody in the evening. There’s a little bit of a problem there,” Trump continued.
The Patriot surface-to-air missile system has become one of Ukraine’s most important platforms during Russia’s full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022. Since 2023, Patriots in Ukraine have been used to down drones, ballistic missiles and Russian aircraft.
Ukraine now fields at least six Patriots, two of which were provided by the U.S. and the others by different NATO allies.
Ukraine has other air defense platforms — among them the European IRIS-T and SAMP-T systems — but none have been so publicly celebrated by Ukraine for blunting Russian attacks. The system, which entered U.S. service in the 1980s, has even been credited with shooting down Russian hypersonic missiles.
Trump declined to say whether he would be announcing new sanctions on Russia on Monday.
Sen. Lindsey Graham told ABC News last week that Trump is “ready” to act on a sweeping Senate bill that would impose tariffs of up to 500% on countries that buy oil and gas from Russia.
Trump, Graham said Wednesday, is “trying to get Putin to the table, but Putin’s not responding.” The legislation will include a waiver allowing Trump to lift sanctions on countries purchasing Russian oil or uranium for 180 days, Graham said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on Monday.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, welcomed Kellogg in a post to Telegram. “Peace through strength is the principle of U.S. President Donald Trump, and we support this approach,” he said.
