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
Israel has gone 'beyond' self-defence, Chinese foreign minister says
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a Saudi official that Israel's "behavior has gone beyond the scope of self-defense."
He called for a stop to the "collective punishment of the people of the Gaza" during a call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to China's official readout of the call.
"Israel's behavior has gone beyond the scope of self-defense, and it should carefully listen to the appeals of the international community and the United Nations secretary-general to stop the collective punishment of the people in Gaza," he said.
-ABC News' Karson Yiu
Ship for US nationals to sail from Israel to Cyprus
U.S. nationals in Israel were being directed to board a ship scheduled to leave Israel on Monday morning.
The hourlong boarding in Haifa, a port city in northern Israel, is expected to begin at 8 a.m., officials at the U.S. Embassy in Israel said in an alert on Sunday morning.
“Boarding will proceed in order of arrival and is on a space limited basis,” the alert said.
IDF says it's ceasing operations along evacuation 'route' for 3-hour window
The Israel Defense Forces urged residents of Gaza City and northern Gaza to continue evacuating Sunday morning
IDF initially ordered a 24-hour evacuation on Friday, which was met with criticism from some humanitarian organizations as well as the United Nations, which said it was informed just after midnight local time that the entire population -- more than 1.1 million residents -- of northern Gaza should be evacuated.
Strike kills Hamas commander behind Nirim attack, Israel says
The commander of a Hamas unit responsible for leading an attack on Kibbutz Nirim was killed in a strike overnight, Israeli military officials said.
Billal Al Kedra, the leader in the southern arm of Hamas commando forces, Khan Yunis Nukhba, was "neutralized" as fighter jets strafed areas of Gaza, officials said in a statement.
"The IDF also struck over one hundred military targets located in Zaytun, Khan Yunis, and west Jabaliya," Israel said. "These strikes impacted the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization, by targeting its operational command centers, military compounds, dozens of launchers, anti-tank missile launch posts and observation posts."
Gaza evacuation: 'Those who want to save their life, please go south'
In his first on-camera comments about Israel’s evacuation request for northern Gaza, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant urged Gaza residents to head south. He noted that Hamas will use them as "camouflage," “therefore we need to separate them."
"Those who want to save their life, please go south. We are going to destroy Hamas infrastructures, Hamas headquarters, Hamas military," he said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who appeared at the press conference with Gallant, dodged ABC News' question about how Israel could end the Hamas terror threat without inevitably risking civilian lives. Austin called Israel's military "professional" and "disciplined."
Austin described how ISIS had also embedded themselves in civilian populations and how the anti-ISIS coalition "protected civilians and created corridors for humanitarian movement even in the midst of a pretty significant fight. So again, this is a professional force. It is well led, and I have every expectation that it will be disciplined."
Austin added, "I would tell you that in countering ISIS, I felt as if we were staring evil in the eye, it was truly evil. And what we've seen from Hamas, it takes that evil to another level."
-ABC News' Matt Seyler and Luis Martinez