In Gaza, 3,000 people have been killed and another 12,500 were injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Tensions are high with the prospect of ground war and evacuation orders for Gaza after the Israel Defense Forces called for "all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes" and "move south for their protection" early Friday, saying residents should move "and settle in the area south of the Gaza River." The announcement was made, according to the IDF, because it plans to "operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days" and wanted "to avoid harming civilians."
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 16, 2023, 2:47 PM EDT
Timeline: The Hamas attack and response
On the morning of Oct. 7, sirens echoed across Israel as Hamas terrorists began a full-fledged surprise attack from the air, sea and ground. Hundreds of armed Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from Gaza, charging into cities and gunning down citizens.
Friends and family mourn Dor Reder, who was killed following a deadly infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, at his funeral in Beit Kama, southern Israel, Oct. 16, 2023.
Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters
Israeli forces responded by sending wave after wave of bombs into Gaza, killing thousands, trapping civilians and raising fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
Dozens of Palestinian children among those killed in Gaza, advocacy group says
At least 33 Palestinian children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Saturday morning as Israel continues its retaliatory airstrikes, according to the advocacy group Defense for Children Palestine.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Palestinians mourn the death of their relatives following an Israeli airstrike on the refugee camp of Jabalia in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Oct 09, 2023, 6:49 AM EDT
Hamas claims 4 Israeli hostages were killed in airstrikes
Four Israeli hostages were killed alongside their militant captors in the Gaza Strip by Israeli airstrikes on Sunday night and Monday morning, according to Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
There was no official confirmation on the hostage deaths from the Israeli side.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti.
Palestinians gather around the rubble of a building destroyed in Israeli strikes, in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 9, 2023.
Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Oct 09, 2023, 6:40 AM EDT
Fresh rockets fired toward Jerusalem, Tel Aviv
The sound of rocket alert sirens rang out in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities on Monday morning.
Israeli firefighters extinguish fire at a site struck by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Oct. 9, 2023.
Ohad Zwigenberg/AP
One of the fresh rockets launched on Monday by Hamas militants from the neighboring Gaza Strip landed near Ben Gurion International Airport in southern Israel.
Several people were reportedly injured by rockets in the southern Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashkelon on Monday.
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
An Israeli man looks out from a window of a building that was hit following rockets from Gaza that were launched towards Israel in Ashkelon, southern Israel, Oct. 9, 2023.
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Oct 09, 2023, 5:59 AM EDT
Israel cuts off Gaza in 'total siege'
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced Monday that he has ordered a "total siege" of the neighboring Gaza Strip, allowing no food, fuel or electricity to enter the Hamas-ruled territory.
"We are fighting barbaric terrorists and we will act accordingly," Gallant said.
People stand among the rubble of a destroyed mosque during Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City on Oct. 9, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
Since Saturday's surprise attack on Israel launched by Hamas militants, Israeli forces have struck back. Hundreds of buildings and homes have been destroyed in Gaza, leaving more than 123,000 people displaced, according to the United Nations.
Unlike Israel, the Gaza Strip has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters. Over 73,000 people are currently sheltering in schools, according to the U.N.
Meanwhile, hospitals in Gaza are struggling to cope with the number of casualties, the U.N. said. At least 493 people have died and another 2,751 have been injured there, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.