tonight, israel intensifying strikes on gaza, warning civilians to move south amid what it calls massive attacks. the israeli military says it has cut gaza in two, its forces reaching the sea completely surrounding gaza city ahead of an expected assault there. ian pannell, one of the few journalists to get inside with a close-up look at the devastation and the forces on the ground. protests from washington to europe in support of palestinians. secretary of state antony blinken with an urgent diplomatic push to prevent the war from spreading. matt rivers standing by in tel aviv. also developing, a hit and run at stanford university now being investigated as a hate crime. students on edge on college campuses nationwide with increasing reports of anti-semitism and islamophobia. a california police officer off the job after allegedly sending racist text messages to a colleague. the police chief calling the messages disgusting. the big reveal in iowa. that state's governor endorsing a presidential candidate, and it's not donald trump. plus the new polls revealing more bad news for president biden including an abc news poll showing three-quarters of americans believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. >> anguish in cincinnati as an 11-year-old boy is killed and several other children shot. the urgent manhunt as the nation reels from the epidemic of gun violence. a stand-off shuts down a major airport for 18 hours. how it finally came to an end. and running with purpose. what makes this marathoner go the extra mile. >> announcer: from abc news world headquarters in new york, this is "world news tonight." >> linsey: good evening, everyone. thanks for joining us on this busy sunday. i'm linsey davis. as we come on the air, israel is unleashing massive attacks on gaza. the idf says its ground forces have now cut it gaza strip in half with gaza city surrounded. explosions lighting up the night sky once again. tonight, the idf says its forces have now reached the sea ahead of a planned assault on gaza city. for the first time, our ian pannell was part of a small group of journalists embedded with israeli forces inside the war zone. their video checked by the idf for operational security and our team on the ground witnessed residents digging through the rubble after the latest strikes, searching for possible survivors. all this amid fears of the conflict spreading. secretary blinken making unannounced trips in the region. team coverage tonight, matt rivers standing by in tel aviv. first, our chief foreign correspondent, ian pannell, just back from his trip with the idf. >> reporter: tonight, israel intensifying its strikes on gaza, warning civilians to move south amid what it calls massive attacks. the military saying its now cut gaza in two. its forces reaching the sea, now completely surrounding gaza city, ahead of an expected assault there. the idf saying a humanitarian corridor is in place for people to flee south, but already thousands of civilians have been killed amid warnings israel will continue to attack strongly and intensify its ground war in the north. and tonight, for the first time since this war began, we go into gaza. the video we filmed was checked by the idf for operational security, embedded with troops from israel's 401st armored brigade for a few hours. the first time they've taken journalists into the war zone since it began. it's not clear what just happened. we heard the sound of an explosion. i could see flames on the side. it could be an ied, a roadside bomb, it's not clear at the moment, but it just shows every single step of the way remains highly dangerous. lieutenant colonel ido ben-anat is the deputy commander of the 401. so what makes this different from previous wars that you fought against hamas? >> it has to be different. it cannot end with the hamas still commanding the gaza strip >> reporter: we were driven about three miles into the gaza strip, towards the northern side of gaza city. it's a scene of utter devastation. building after building scarred and blackened by the bombardment, the crackle of gunfire and crump of tank fire ever present. the landscape is apocalyptic. we're here in gaza. at the moment we're with israeli defense forces, we're not allowed to say where we are. you can see the tanks the next to me. you can hear the sound of the tank fire. we're hearing gun fire. it still remains an incredibly active zone. but this is what we couldn't see. the carnage and death being inflicted elsewhere in gaza as the death toll soars towards 10,000 according to the hamas run health authority. israel striking two more refugee camps. it's located in the evacuation zone where israel's military is urging families to seek refugee, as the idf focus said on the north, but there's almost nowhere in gaza that is safe anymore. what i saw unfolding on the ground is a complex, dangerous, and ambitious military operation. i think the challenge for america, israel and arab allies is what does a day after this war look like. few unlikely to be willing to pick up the pieces of what little is left of gaza when the guns fall silent. linsey. >> the final outcome seems quite uncertain. ian, thank you. secretary blinken is back on an urgent diplomatic mission in the middle east. his third since the conflict began. abc's matt rivers joins us now from tel aviv. the white house seems concerned about the threat of war spreading in the region. >> reporter: these were a pair of unannounced visits. with extremely high stakes. this entire region on a knife's edge right now. blinken first going to ramallah in the west bank in an armored convoy to meet the leader of the palestinian authority, and then going to meet with iraq's prime minister in baghdad. the takeaways here, twofold. one, blinken clearly trying to avoid a regional escalation in this war. and two, sending a message to iran and its proxies, do not make this situation worse. blinken continued to press for a humanitarian pause in this conflict, a clear difference from the calls for a complete cease-fire from leaders across the arab world. blinken arriving in turkey for his next stop. meanwhile, here in israel, a u.s. official confirming cia director bill burns now on the ground for a series of meetings, linsey, about gaza. >> the u.s. with quite a presence in the region. matt, thank you. tens of thousands in washington showing their support for the palestinian people. marchers taking to the streets of washington, d.c., many waving palestinian flags and calling for a cease-fire. the march ended at freedom plaza just steps away from the white house. similar protests were held in major cities around the globe, including toronto, london, paris, and berlin. the hamas-run palestinian health ministry says nearly 10,000 people have been killed in gaza. authorities in california say they're now investigating the hit-and-run of an arab muslim student at stanford university as a hate crime. that student says he never imagined he would be the victim of such an attack. campuses across the country remain on edge. abc's jaclyn lee has those details. >> reporter: tonight, authorities in california have opened a hate crime investigation into a hit-and-run that injured an arab muslim student at stanford university. the student, abdulwahab omira, stating, i never imagined becoming the victim of a hate-driven attack. omira alleging that on friday afternoon "a vehicle, driven by an individual who had previously shown animosity towards my community, struck me intentionally." omira saying the driver screamed, "[ bleep ] you and your people." >> i went to visit him in the hospital yesterday. he's in good spirits, but physically, he wasn't doing very well. >> reporter: stanford university police say the student described the driver as a white male in his mid-20s with short dirty-blond hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round framed eyeglasses. and that the university is "continuing to work provide a safe and secure campus environment in the context of heightened tensions related to the events in israel and gaza." for weeks, federal authorities have warned about an increase in threats against jewish, muslim, and arab communities. >> no person, and no community in this country should have to live in fear of hate-fueled violence. >> reporter: but campuses across the nation remain on edge. at bucknell university in central pennsylvania, a swastika was recently found in a residence hall. >> it just makes me feel really unsafe. >> reporter: the university stating hateful speech, acts, or symbols have no place at bucknell and will carry consequences. and on friday, cornell university canceled classes just days after patrick dai, a 21-year-old junior, was arrested and charged for threatening to kill and injure jewish students online. linsey, the santa clara county sheriff's office says they are actively investigating this incident at stanford and are asking anyone with information to come forward. linsey. >> jacyln, thank you. >> linsey: now to the race for 2024. iowa's governor kim reynolds breaking with former president trump. she will endorse ron desantis for the republican nomination. and tonight, new polling shows trump is building strength in battleground states. here's abc's maryalice parks. >> reporter: tonight, a major win for ron desantis. iowa governor kim reynolds will endorse him over front-runner donald trump at a rally tomorrow night in des moines. sources familiar with the matter tell abc news. just two months ahead of the critical iowa caucuses. trump tonight slamming reynolds as disloyal, writing on social media that he thinks she is now america's most unpopular governor and desantis is second. both trump and desantis taking the stage saturday at florida republican party's freedom summit. >> my people said, "sir, don't hit him, he's a republican." i said, "i don't care if he's a republican. we hit him hard and now he's like a wounded falling bird from the sky." >> we've gotten more endorsements from state legislators than any other candidate by far if you look at what we have done in iowa, new hampshire, all these places. >> reporter: and american voters appear to be looking for alternatives to the presumed front-runners. about three in ten say they would be more likely to vote for the democrat or republican candidate if it were not biden or trump, according to a new abc news ipsos poll. and 76% of americans say they believe the country is heading in the wrong direction. and a "new york times" siena poll shows biden trailing trump in hypothetical matchups in five swing states. back in florida -- >> i'm a big supporter of the governor. >> reporter: but some voters say they're sure trump can beat desantis. even here. >> i think trump would win. he's a force to be reckoned with. ron desantis would be my second. >> reporter: mary alice park joins us now from washington. former president trump has planned to testify in open court in new york tomorrow. what can we expect. >> reporter: that's right, a big moment. no cameras once he takes the stand, but the former president has been talking to reporters in the hallways of the courthouse. we don't know what kind of witness he will be. in his first deposition for the case, he pled the fifth, the right not to self incriminate, 400 times. in a second deposition, he was much more talkative. trump, of course, has dismissed all of this, he says as a political witch hunt. his daughter ivanka will also take the stand on wednesday. linsey. >> maryalice, thank you. stay with abc news as we mark one year out from election day with extensive political coverage across all of our platforms. >> linsey: next tonight, a san jose police officer is no longer on the force after authorities say they discovered racist texts that he sent to a colleague. that other person is on administrative leave pending an investigation. the texts were uncovered in a separate probe. here's melissa adan. >> reporter: tonight, a six-year veteran of the san jose police department is off the force after, authorities say, he sent multiple texts containing racist slurs to a colleague. in a statement on friday, the police chief saying officer mark mcnamara "is no longer employed with the city" and calling the texts "disgusting." authorities releasing ten pages of texts between an unidentified coworker and mcnamara that show mcnamara making racist remarks. in one text, mcnamara, who is white, says "i hate black people." the discovery surfacing "in the last days and hours" during an unrelated criminal investigation, according to police. some of those texts appearing to refer to an incident in march 2022. the officer shooting k'aun green four times after green backed out of a restaurant, holding a gun that he had wrestled from an armed suspect during a fight. >> it hurts me and scares me to know how much hate a person can have in their heart. >> reporter: tonight, green's lawyer is demanding accountability, claiming the texts are not an isolated incident. >> we call for mcnamara to be decertified as a police officer. he should not have the honor of ever carrying a badge and gun on behalf or in the mucommunity's name. >> reporter: tonight, the san jose police officers association saying in a statement, "if these allegations are true, then this individual must face the sternest consequences possible." adding "racism, and those who perpetrate it, have no place in our city and no place in law enforcement." linsey, that union says mcnamara resigned from the force. meanwhile, authorities say the person who received those texts is a current employee but now on administrative leave. linsey. >> melissa, thank you. we turn now to that urgent manhunt in cincinnati. an 11-year-old boy killed. several other people, most of them children, were hurt in a shooting on the city's west end. new details just coming in. here's morgan norwood. >> reporter: tonight, heartbreak and anguish after a group of children in cincinnati, ohio, senselessly targeted in a shooting that killed an 11-year-old boy and injured five others. >> we are bewildered, furious and heartbroken. >> reporter: as police and community leaders emotional as they shared the details of what they described as one of the most shocking shootings in the city's history. >> 22 rounds were fired, 22 rounds in a moment, into a crowd of kids. >> reporter: police say friday night a driver in a dark sedan pulled up and opened fire near a park leaving six people including five children shot. one pronounced dead at the scene, three taken to cincinnati children's hospital in critical condition. >> reporter: shrill screams overheard as police desperately called for more ambulances. >> give me the radio please. we need numerous ambulances. >> reporter: tonight, the family of 11-year-old dominic davis, begging for an end to the violence. >> when will this stop, will it ever stop? how many people will have to bury their kids? >> reporter: sadly, more than 1400 children and teens have died from gun violence this year alone. that's according to the gun violence archive. tonight, the search is on for a suspect in this case. one child remains in the hospital. linsey. >> morgan, thank you. >> linsey: a thrilling finish at the new york city marathon. kenya's first woman to cross the finish line, pulling away with just 400 meters to go. on the men's side, ethiopian set a course record finishing in just under two hours and five minutes. and following closely behind, abc news relay team, 11 of us with robin starting us off, david muir right there as the anchor running the course to raise money for the new york road runners team for kids. still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this sunday. a mother and child are trapped in a car as it catches fire. we have the dramatic rescue. and a police standoff shuts down a major airport for hours. how it finally came to an end, when we come 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