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."

Click here for the latest updates.


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


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Schumer vows commitment to 'deliver everything Israel requires in this time'

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday spoke with top officials from the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department during a briefing on the situation in Israel.

Schumer's office released a statement, stating, "The enormous loss of life is gut-wrenching, and I am appalled at the viciousness of the attack by Hamas on innocent Israeli civilians. I expressed my commitment to top Biden Administration officials – and directly to Ambassador Herzog – to do all I can to deliver everything Israel requires in this time of urgent need. I will continue to receive regular briefings."

Schumer is currently overseas in China on a Congressional trip.

The statement continued, "This is one of the worst attacks Israel has ever experienced, and friends of Israel in the US and around the world must stand strongly by her. My heart goes out to those that lost loved ones."


FAA urges US airlines to 'use caution' in Israeli airspace

The Federal Aviation Administration issued a statement Saturday night urging U.S. airlines and pilots to "use caution" when flying in Israeli airspace.

In a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), the FAA said to exercise extreme caution at all altitudes due to the "ongoing conflict situation between Israel and Gaza."

NOTAM's statement told flight crews to remain in contact with "air traffic control at all times" and to monitor for "possible airspace closures."


'Panic' at Israeli music festival

A music festival near Re'im, Israel, came under fire amid the Hamas attacks, a festivalgoer recounted to ABC News.

Eliav Klein said that around 5:30 a.m. local time Saturday, missiles and gunfire began to target the festival. He and others ran "in a panic," losing track of many of their friends. Some of Klein's friends are still missing, he said.

Footage captured rockets flying across the horizon, interrupting the festival.

-ABC News' Christopher Looft


'Too early’ to know if Iran involved: Senior WH official

A senior White House official told reporters Saturday evening that it is "too early" to know what involvement, if any, Iran had in the attacks in Israel.

"It's too early to say whether the state of Iran was directly involved or planning, supporting," the senior administration official said. "We are going to be looking at that very closely."

"That said, there's no doubt Hamas is funded, equipped, armed by Iran and others," the official added.

Several Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog, have claimed that Iran helped coordinate the attacks.

The White House official said President Joe Biden and the administration have been in contact with Palestinian and Israeli officials throughout the day.

"We are in deep talks with the Israelis about some of their particular needs," the official said.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow


'No one else should get involved in this,' top US official warns

The United States is warning against other countries from becoming involved in the Israel-Gaza conflict amid fears that it could spread into a wider war in the Middle East.

"This is not the moment for other parties who are hostile to Israel to seek advantage or to seek to exploit the attacks that have taken place," Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, Monday on "Good Morning America."

"That is part of why the United States has moved the Carrier Strike Group to the eastern Mediterranean to send a strong and unmistakeable signal that no one else should get involved in this," he added. "We'll see how things unfold in the course of the coming days."

Finer also emphasized that the U.S. believes "Israel has every right to defend itself full-stop."

"Israel will ultimately make the decisions about how it chooses to go about and conduct that defense," he said. "We are offering support in a number of ways."

Finer noted that "more U.S. steps to show support and solidarity for Israel" can be expected.

"The U.S. is going to offer support at every level for Israel's defense and we are working through details those details with our intelligence professionals, our military and our diplomats," he added. "We are in daily -- in fact, many times a day -- contact with Israeli counterparts to see what they need and offer it."

The U.S. "strongly suspect[s] that there will be American citizens among those killed" in the ongoing conflict, according to Finer.

"We are looking obviously very intensively into whether there were any Americans were among those who have been abducted and brought to Gaza. This is still ongoing," he said. "There is still fighting inside Israel as we speak and there is a bit of fog of war in terms of the ability to gather specific information. And so, we will have much more to say about this at the right time."

When asked for comment on a recent report by The Wall Street Journal that Iran was behind Hamas' latest attack on Israel, Finer responded: "We have no direct information to confirm that report. We've obviously seen it, we're looking into it, but we do not have the ability to corroborate it at this time."

"What we can be quite clear about is that Iran is broadly complicit in these attacks for having supported Hamas going back decades -- for having provided financial support, for having provided training, for having provided weapons to Hamas," he added. "What we don't have is direct information that shows Iranian involvement in ordering or planning the attacks that took place over the last couple days. It's something that we’re going to keep looking at closely."