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 16, 2023, 9:36 AM EDT

Death toll continues to mount on both sides

The death toll has been mounting on both sides since Hamas launched an unprecedented incursion into Israel more than a week ago, prompting Israeli forces to retaliate.

In Israel, more than 1,400 people have died, and 3,400 others have been injured, according to Israeli officials.

ABC News' Phil Lipof speaks with the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, about the climbing death toll in the Israel-Hamas war.
3:27

Rising death toll adds to concerns of war crimes in Israel-Hamas war

ABC News' Phil Lipof speaks with the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, Kenneth Roth, about the climbing death toll in the Israel-Hamas war.
ABCNews.com

In Gaza, at least 2,750 people have been killed in retaliatory strikes from Israel with another 9,700 more injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child killed in overnight Israeli shelling during a funeral in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 10, 2023.
Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

In the West Bank, at least 54 have been killed.

Oct 16, 2023, 6:21 AM EDT

199 hostages taken, Israel says

Hamas militants have taken at least 199 hostages since their ground invasion into Israel began on Oct. 7, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said on Monday.

-ABC News' Clark Bentson

Oct 16, 2023, 3:29 AM EDT

No cease-fire agreed, Netanyahu's office says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Monday that there was no cease-fire agreement ahead of the expected re-opening of an Egyptian border in Rafah.

"There is no ceasefire," the office said in a two-line statement.

Oct 16, 2023, 2:52 AM EDT

Israelis near Lebanon border to be evacuated

Israelis residents living near the border with Lebanon will be evacuated, state officials said Monday.

A fire burns on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon following explosions, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023.
Petros Giannakouris/AP

People living within the 28 Israeli towns that sit within 2 km of the border will be evacuated, the Israeli Ministry of Defense's National Emergency Management Authority and the Israel Defense Forces said in a joint statement.

-ABC News' Clark Bentson

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