Israel-Gaza updates: IDF preparing for 'wide range of offensive plans'

Fighting is ongoing after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: October 17, 2023, 4:16 PM EDT

At least 1,400 people have died and 3,400 others have been injured in Israel after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented incursion from air, land and sea on Oct. 7, Israeli authorities said.

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."

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Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 16, 2023, 2:47 pm

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.

Click here for the full timeline

Oct 15, 2023, 7:28 PM EDT

IDF says it hit Hezbollah ‘military infrastructure’

Israel Defense Forces attacked “military infrastructure” that belongs to “the terrorist organization Hezbollah” in Lebanon, the IDF said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) early Monday morning local time.

“IDF forces attacked the military infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon a short time ago; this was in response to the shooting that was carried out yesterday at Israeli territory,” the post read.

Hezbollah has taken responsibility for several attacks on Israeli Defense Forces while IDF fighter jets bomb Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon.
2:25

Tensions growing at Israel, Lebanon border

Hezbollah has taken responsibility for several attacks on Israeli Defense Forces while IDF fighter jets bomb Hezbollah locations in southern Lebanon.
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The IDF did not share details on when the attacks occurred.

Israeli forces have been engaging in skirmishes with the Lebanese militant group along Israel's northern border with Lebanon in the days since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Oct 15, 2023, 6:12 PM EDT

Border crossing from Gaza into Egypt to open Monday 'for a few hours': Source

An agreement has been reached to open the border crossing out of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Monday for the entry of foreigners and dual nationals into Egypt as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a security source told ABC News.

The Rafah border crossing is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The crossing will be opened for a few hours on Monday and then closed again in the late afternoon, the source said. The exact times of the opening and closing were not specified.
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People with Egyptian flags cheer next to a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians by Egyptian NGOs, as they wait for an agreement on the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza. Al-Arish in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, Oct. 15, 2023
People with Egyptian flags cheer next to a convoy of trucks carrying humanitarian aid to Palestinians by Egyptian NGOs, as they wait for an agreement on the Rafah border crossing to enter Gaza. In the city of Al-Arish in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, October 15, 2023 REUTERS/Stringer
Stringer/Reuters

The evacuation may include Egyptian nationals stranded in Gaza, the source said.

Israel will deploy crews from the Red Cross to inspect aid shipments flowing into the Palestinian side through the border, the source added.

Military forces in the North Sinai cities of Al-Arish and Sheikh Ziweid moved closer to the border late on Sunday in preparation for the opening, the source said.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy

Oct 15, 2023, 5:58 PM EDT

14 UN humanitarian workers killed in Gaza, officials say

Fourteen staff members from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees have been killed in airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, United Nations Relief and Works Agency Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said during remarks from the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Most of the UNRWA's 13,000 staff members in the Gaza Strip have now been displaced or are "out of their homes," Lazzarini added.

Unless supplies are brought into Gaza, UNRWA and other international aid workers will not be able to continue humanitarian operations, Lazzarini said.

"As I speak with you, Gaza is running out of water and electricity," Lazzarini said.

At least 400,000 people who have been displaced in Gaza are currently sheltering in UNRWA schools and buildings, most of which have not been equipped as emergency shelters, Lazzarini said.

-ABC News' Ely Brown

Doctors Without Borders spokesperson Gabriel Naumann says “We need to have the siege fully lifted so people can have access to food and electricity."
4:29

Biggest concerns for Doctors Without Borders during Israel-Hamas war

Doctors Without Borders spokesperson Gabriel Naumann says “We need to have the siege fully lifted so people can have access to food and electricity."
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Oct 15, 2023, 5:46 PM EDT

US will soon be able to move thousands of Americans out of Israel by sea, sources say

The U.S. will soon have the capability to move thousands of American citizens and their families out of Israel by sea, two sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.

Those fleeing by sea will be taken to Cyprus aboard a cruise ship-like vessel set to depart from the northern Israeli port city of Haifa on Monday, the sources said.

Boarding is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. local time on Monday, according to the U.S. State Department. Boarding will proceed in order of arrival as capacity permits.

Flight departures out of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport will also continue "on a rolling basis" on Monday and Tuesday, according to the State Department.

"Please go to Ben Gurion International Airport, Terminal 3, if you wish to depart Israel," the State Department instructed travelers in an advisory on Sunday. "U.S. Embassy personnel will be present to direct you and provide specific flight information. Be prepared to wait."

-ABC News' Mary Alice Parks and Shannon Crawford

Citizens will be evacuated by boat to Cyprus beginning Monday, in addition to charter flights.
1:32

US Embassy scrambles to bring Americans home from Israel

Citizens will be evacuated by boat to Cyprus beginning Monday, in addition to charter flights.
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