Fighting is ongoing after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
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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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.
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.
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The Pentagon has placed about 2,000 American troops on a heightened state of readiness to possibly deploy to the Middle East if they're needed, a U.S. official confirmed. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
If these units are deployed, their purpose would be to serve as a deterrent.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
The Israeli hostages in Gaza include an elderly women with Parkinson's disease, a 60-year-old man with multiple sclerosis and children with autism, according to the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Other hostages are suffering from amputated limbs and severe injuries from rape, the group said.
The hostages are "enduring extreme conditions as time runs critically short," the group said.
Red Cross makes contact with Hamas leadership
The International Committee of the Red Cross said its met with Hamas leadership and is pushing Hamas for immediate release of the hostages.
The Red Cross is also asking Hamas to allow access to the hostages to provide care and to permit hostages to communicate with their families.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
An Israeli airstrike struck a road close to the Rafah border crossing and also hit a nearby United Nations Relief and Works Agency warehouse, according to an Egyptian military source.
This is the fourth strike near the border since the war began.
A history of conflict: An ongoing war between Israel and Palestine
The Israel Defense Forces said its soldiers have killed Hamas' head of general intelligence in the Gaza Strip.
What is Hamas?
