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.

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Oct 09, 2023, 10:56 AM EDT

Israel Defense Forces: 'Unprecedented attack ... will be followed by an unprecedented Israeli response'

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, called Hamas' attack "unprecedented," and said the assault will be "followed by an unprecedented Israeli response."

"I could not imagine at that time [when the incursion began Saturday] that Hamas would have the audacity … to do what they have done," he told ABC News Monday. "To launch such an unprecedented, brutal, merciless attack on Israeli citizens. … And cause the amount of casualties that Israel has never experienced ever in its history."

In Israel, at least 700 people have died and more than 2,300 others have been injured since Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces has since launched retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza. At least 560 people have died and another 2,900 have been injured in Gaza since Saturday, Palestinian authorities said.

The IDF said it's struck 130 targets in the last three hours.

Rockets fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza City are intercepted by the Israeli Iron Dome defence missile system in the early hours of Oct. 8, 2023.
Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images

Oct 09, 2023, 10:53 AM EDT

US Embassy staff in Israel under curfew, banned from personal travel to West Bank

Personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Israel are now under a curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and "are urged to stay as close to home as possible outside the curfew hours," the U.S. Embassy said in a new alert.

Israelis inspect the rubble of a building a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 8, 2023.
Oded Balilty/AP

In addition to a ban on personal travel to Gaza and the surrounding areas, the new alert said all U.S. government personnel are also prohibited from personal travel to the West Bank.

"U.S. citizens in Israel who have family members missing in the Gaza periphery can go to the Israel National Police’s combined assistance center at 4 HaNegev Street in Airport City," the alert said.

-ABC News' Shannon Crawford

Oct 09, 2023, 10:52 AM EDT

Israeli gunships attacking Lebanon

Israel Defense Forces' helicopter gunships are attacking Lebanese territory on Monday after the IDF said two rockets were fired from Lebanon.

An Israeli sodleir prays standing in front of a Merkava tank on the outskirts of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona near the border with Lebanon on Oct. 8, 2023.
Jalaa Marey/AFP via Getty Images

The Lebanese army said, "The outskirts of the towns of Al-Dhaira and Aita Al-Shaab and other border areas are being subjected to air and artillery bombardment by the Israeli enemy. The Army Command calls on citizens to take the utmost precaution and caution and not to go to areas adjacent to the border in order to preserve their safety."

Of the two rockets fired from Lebanon toward Israel, one of the rockets fell in Lebanese territory and no injuries were reported.

Oct 09, 2023, 8:52 AM EDT

Death toll of Americans in Israel rises to 9

At least nine Americans have been killed in Israel since Saturday as a result of attacks launched by the Hamas militant group, according to an official with the United States National Security Council.

"At this time, we can confirm the death of nine U.S. citizens," the official told ABC News in a statement on Monday. "We extend our deepest condolences to the victims and to the families of all those affected, and wish those injured a speedy recovery. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in touch with our Israeli partners, particularly the local authorities."

Two French citizens are among those killed in Israel, the French Foreign Ministry said.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

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