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 11, 2023, 11:21 AM EDT

Israel agrees to form emergency unity government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chairman of the State Camp Benny Gantz on Wednesday agreed on the establishment of an emergency government and a war management cabinet.

The war management cabinet includes the prime minister, the defense minister and the chairman of the state camp. A place in the cabinet will be reserved for the chairman of the opposition if he joins.

During the war period, no bills or government decisions will be promoted that do not concern the conduct of the war.

Israel’s Emergency Unity Government will be sworn in Thursday at 6 p.m. local time.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Jordana Miller

Oct 11, 2023, 10:54 AM EDT

Fighting ongoing in south as Israel, Hezbollah exchange fire in north

Fighting is ongoing between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in southern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel and Hezbollah are openly exchanging fire at the northern border.

An Israeli army self-propelled howitzer fires rounds near the border with Gaza in southern Israel, Oct. 11, 2023.
Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

The Israel Defense Forces said the area of the Gaza Division has been declared a closed military zone and reiterated that entry is strictly prohibited.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip remained closed for the second day in a row on Wednesday. The crossing was shut indefinitely on Tuesday after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Monday and Tuesday.

Oct 11, 2023, 8:30 AM EDT

State Dept. expects number of confirmed dead Americans will rise

The State Department expects that the number of confirmed dead Americans will rise on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on CNN.

"We continue to work through the list of unaccounted and find that, obviously, some of those we will locate or will report in, some of them we do find, unfortunately, they're deceased, and then others we are able to confirm are taken hostage,” Miller said. “It's a moving target all the time."

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Oct 11, 2023, 7:37 AM EDT

Massive rocket barrage on Ashkelon

A barrage of rockets has landed on the Israeli city of Ashkelon on Wednesday morning.

Ashkelon, with a population of over 100,000 people, has essentially been a ghost town since the start of the incursion from Hamas over the weekend.

There have been no immediate reports of injuries or deaths in the aftermath of the attack.

-ABC News’ Matt Gutman

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