Israel-Gaza updates: Israeli forces preparing for 'wide range of offensive plans'
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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Latest headlines:
- At least 500 killed in explosion at Gaza hospital: Gaza Health Ministry
- IDF preparing to implement 'wide range of offensive plans'
- 3,000 tons of aid with nowhere to go as Gaza-Egypt border remains closed
- Biden to visit Israel
- Hostages suffering from amputated limbs, severe injuries from rape: Israeli forum
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.
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
Rafah crossing on Egypt's border to open at 9 a.m. Monday
The U.S. State Department has said it believes the Rafah crossing, which is located on the border of Gaza and Egypt, will be open on Monday morning.
Quoting media reports, the State Department said the crossing will open at 9 a.m. local time.
"We anticipate that the situation at the Rafah crossing will remain fluid and unpredictable and it is unclear whether, or for how long, travelers will be permitted to transit the crossing," the State Department wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). "If you assess it to be safe, you may wish to move closer to the Rafah border crossing – there may be very little notice if the crossing opens and it may only open for a limited time."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
IDF says it hit Hezbollah ‘military infrastructure’
Israel Defense Forces attacked “military infrastructure” that belongs to “the terrorist organization Hezbollah” in Lebanon, the IDF said in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) early Monday morning local time.
“IDF forces attacked the military infrastructure of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon a short time ago; this was in response to the shooting that was carried out yesterday at Israeli territory,” the post read.
The IDF did not share details on when the attacks occurred.
Israeli forces have been engaging in skirmishes with the Lebanese militant group along Israel's northern border with Lebanon in the days since Hamas' surprise attack on Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7.
-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman
Border crossing from Gaza into Egypt to open Monday 'for a few hours': Source
An agreement has been reached to open the border crossing out of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Monday for the entry of foreigners and dual nationals into Egypt as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a security source told ABC News.
The Rafah border crossing is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The crossing will be opened for a few hours on Monday and then closed again in the late afternoon, the source said. The exact times of the opening and closing were not specified.
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Israel will deploy crews from the Red Cross to inspect aid shipments flowing into the Palestinian side through the border, the source added.
Military forces in the North Sinai cities of Al-Arish and Sheikh Ziweid moved closer to the border late on Sunday in preparation for the opening, the source said.
14 UN humanitarian workers killed in Gaza, officials say
Fourteen staff members from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees have been killed in airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, United Nations Relief and Works Agency Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said during remarks from the UNRWA headquarters in Jerusalem on Sunday.
Most of the UNRWA's 13,000 staff members in the Gaza Strip have now been displaced or are "out of their homes," Lazzarini added.
Unless supplies are brought into Gaza, UNRWA and other international aid workers will not be able to continue humanitarian operations, Lazzarini said.
"As I speak with you, Gaza is running out of water and electricity," Lazzarini said.
At least 400,000 people who have been displaced in Gaza are currently sheltering in UNRWA schools and buildings, most of which have not been equipped as emergency shelters, Lazzarini said.
-ABC News' Ely Brown