Israel-Gaza updates: Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages, Gaza aid

The hostages are two elderly women who are both Israeli nationals.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: October 23, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT

Thousands of people have died and thousands more were injured after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.

At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. In Gaza, 5,087 people have died and 15,273 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.

Aid workers and officials fear that Israel's call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.

Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.

Click here for previous updates.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Oct 23, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT

20 aid trucks cross into Gaza: UN

Twenty aid trucks crossed from Egypt to Gaza through the Rafah border crossing on Monday, according to the United Nations.

The Rafah border crossing was shut on Oct. 10 after it was hit by Israeli warplanes on the Palestinian side three times on Oct. 9 and 10.

After nearly two weeks of humanitarian conditions worsening by the day, the crossing briefly opened on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, permitting a small amount of aid to enter Gaza. The U.N. said 34 trucks entered this weekend.

People on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing wave flags as a convoy of lorries carrying humanitarian aid crosses to the Gaza Strip on Oct. 22, 2023.
Mohammed Assad/AFP via Getty Images

Medical aid from the World Health Organization arrives at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, Oct. 23, 2023.
Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general, called this only "a drop in the bucket."

"The number of trucks that usually went into Gaza every day was about 450 or so, and now we're seeing 20 or 30, and we're not seeing any fuel, which is a great concern," Dujarric said. "For the 14th consecutive day, Gaza remains under a full electricity blackout. The situation in hospital remains dire given the shortage of electricity, medicine, equipment and specialized personnel."

Abood Okal, a 36-year-old American, has been stranded in Gaza with his wife and 1-year-old son since the beginning of the war.
Abood Okal, a 36-year-old American, has been stranded in Gaza with his wife and 1-year-old son since the beginning of the war.

Oct 23, 2023, 2:11 PM EDT

Images of potential Gaza ground invasion may act as catalyst for violent actors: DHS

Images of Israel's potential ground invasion into Gaza could serve as "a catalyst for various violent actors," the Department of Homeland Security warned in an intelligence assessment on Sunday.

The agency said it's "concerned about lone offenders inspired by or responding to the conflict committing simple, unsophisticated attacks that are difficult to warn of in advance."

Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights activist in the West Bank, breaks down what he’s seeing.
Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights activist in the West Bank, breaks down what he’s seeing.

"Some individuals continue to call for violence against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab targets in the United States across various social media platforms," the assessment said. "We continue to be concerned about threats to houses of worship and other institutions."

Domestic extremists, while a concern, have not signaled any "intent to provide facilitation or assistance to any foreign terrorist organizations in the Gulf region, including HAMAS or Hezbollah," the assessment said.

-ABC News' Luke Barr

Oct 23, 2023, 1:25 PM EDT

Israeli forces preparing for air, ground, sea operations

Israeli forces are "preparing thoroughly for the next step -- a multilateral operation in the air, ground and sea," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Monday.

To the soldiers, Gallant said in Hebrew, "Keep preparing for our operation, it will come soon."

"Do your work, get ready," he said. "We will need you.”

Soldiers sit on an artillery unity near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on Oct. 22, 2023 in Netivot, Israel.
Amir Levy/Getty Images

Oct 23, 2023, 9:21 AM EDT

Gaza death toll tops 5,000

In the last 24 hours, at least 436 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Authority, which is run by Hamas.

The Gaza death toll has now climbed to 5,087 since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.

Israel launched more air attacks over the weekend as Gaza braces for an expected full-scale ground invasion and clashes intensify along Israel’s northern border with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel launched more air attacks over the weekend as Gaza braces for an expected full-scale ground invasion and clashes intensify along Israel’s northern border with Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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