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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Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Tuesday that officials plan to create "safe zones" in southern Gaza as the only places where residents can receive humanitarian aid.
The aid would be "on one condition," Hanegbi said in Hebrew. "If this aid does not reach civilians, but goes to murderers, [the safe zones] will simply not exist."
The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has now endured four bombings from Israel, according to a spokesperson for Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Rafah crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.
Confusion over border crossing between Gaza and Egypt
"We are in constant contact with all U.N. agencies to extract a safe passage for the relief aid," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told BBC Radio. "There is not yet any sort of authorization for a safe passage from the other side of the crossing.”
Shoukry also called out Israeli leaders who urged Gaza residents to move south, saying, "Israel’s call for displacement to the South is in full contradiction to international humanitarian law, leaving people with no water, electricity or food."
Six people were killed and dozens were injured when a Gaza school sheltering refugees was hit by Israeli airstrikes, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said.
At least 4,000 people have taken refuge in the school, UNRWA said.
The Israel Defense Forces said Tuesday that it's "preparing to implement a wide range of offensive plans" after mobilizing hundreds of thousands of reserves and several days of combat.
Israel forces prepare for ground invasion
