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.
The White House said there are no intentions to send U.S. troops to Israel.
"The Israelis have made it very clear that they don't want foreign troops on their soil. That they want to prosecute these operations on their own and they have every right to want to do that," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
Kirby said the U.S. would "do everything we can to improve" the capabilities of the Israeli military.
And as humanitarian concerns grow in Gaza, Kirby told reporters that there are "ongoing conversations" with Israeli counterparts about the need for the "continued flow of humanitarian assistance" to the area.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Molly Nagle
Oct 12, 2023, 1:18 PM EDT
27 Americans among the dead: Kirby
The death toll of American citizens in Israel now stands at 27, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said at a White House briefing on Thursday.
Fourteen Americans remain unaccounted for.
0:50
27 Americans among the dead in Israel: Kirby
The death toll of American citizens in Israel now stands at 27, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said at a White House briefing on Thursday.
Oct 12, 2023, 1:15 PM EDT
Blinken: 'Depravity in the worst imaginable way'
At a news conference Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the gruesome photos and videos shown to him behind closed doors by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It’s beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less, God forbid, experience. A baby, an infant -- riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded. Young people, burned alive," he said. "I could go on, but it’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way."
3:12
Blinken: 'Depravity in the worst imaginable way'
At a news conference Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the gruesome photos and videos shown to him behind closed doors by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Blinken said that some of the images had been seen before, but others were new to him, and again said that Hamas’ acts harkened back to ISIS.
"I think for any human being to see this -- it’s really beyond almost anything that we can comprehend, digest," Blinken continued. "You can’t help but imagine yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends in that situation, in that predicament and maybe the best word for it for me is overwhelming."
The personal belongings of festival-goers are seen at the site of an attack on the Nova Festival by Hamas gunmen from Gaza, near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, October 12, 2023.
Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
While some of the claims made by the IDF have been questioned and others have fueled online claims that the Israeli government is spreading disinformation, Blinken said that the photos would ultimately show exactly the horrors its people have confronted and serve to unify through "moral clarity."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Oct 12, 2023, 12:39 PM EDT
IDF: On Saturday we failed
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that it's responsible for Israel's security and said they failed on Saturday.
IDF Soldiers wait in a trench, ready to fire, near the border with Gaza, on Oct. 10, 2023 in Kfar Aza, Israel.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
The IDF said they'll investigate how the security failure happened, but right now, they're in a time of war.
1:12
Drone footage shows destruction at kibbutz attacked by Hamas
Drone footage showed destruction, damage and rubble on ground in the Be'eri Kibbutz area in Israel, where Hamas militants left scores dead in an unprecedented attack inside Israel.