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
More than 700 dead in Israel: Health officials
More than 700 people are dead in Israel and over 2,100 others injured, Israeli health officials said.
The Palestinian Health Authority said there are 370 people dead in Gaza and 2,200 others injured.
Biden tells Netanyahu 'additional assistance' for IDF is on its way
President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and informed him the U.S. was providing "additional assistance for the Israeli Defense Forces" was already on its way "with more to follow over the coming days," according to the White House.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow
Biden directs 'additional support for Israel,' receives briefing on attacks
President Joe Biden "directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas," the White House said Sunday.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris received briefings Sunday morning on the attacks in Israel.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow
Blinken says Americans believed to be among dead and missing
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday said the Biden administration is working to verify reports that U.S. citizens are among the dead and missing in Isreal following Saturday's unprecedented attacks from Hamas into Israel from Gaza.
“We have reports that several Americans were killed. We are working overtime to verify that,” Blinken told CNN's "State of the Union. "There are reports of missing Americans."
Blinken called the attack the worst since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, but added that there is a "fundamental difference."
"That was a war that was state-to-state, country-to-country, army-to-army. This is a massive terrorist attack that is gunning down Israeli civilians in their towns and their homes," Blinken said. "As we've seen so graphically, they're literally dragging people across the border with Gaza, including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, women and children. You can imagine the impact this is having throughout Israel and the world should be revolted at what it's seen."
-ABC News' Joe Simonetti
Blinken: 'Our focus now is on helping to create safe zones' in Gaza
At a press conference with the Qatari prime minister, Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed efforts to implement safe zones in Gaza and provide other humanitarian assistance, but did not shed additional light on efforts to evacuate Americans and other foreign nationals ahead of a potential Israeli ground incursion.
"When it comes to providing for civilians in Gaza, both ensuring that they can be out of harm's way and that they can have access to the support that they need -- the humanitarian assistance the food, the medicine, water -- our focus now is on helping to create safe zones. And we're doing that with leading international organizations, and we're doing that engaged with Israel," Blinken said.
But Blinken said that those efforts to help Palestinians were still being actively hindered by Hamas.
"Hamas continues to use innocent civilians as human shields," he said.
"We know the humanitarian situation is urgent. We're actively engaged with partners, including Qatar, to get aid to the those who need it," he said.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford