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.
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
Blinken and Netanyahu sheltered in a bunker for 5 minutes
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sheltered in a bunker for five minutes with the war cabinet and the rest of their meeting participants after rocket sirens went off in Tel Aviv on Monday, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.
The meeting has since been moved and participants are going to an Israel Defense Forces command center to continue their discussions, Miller said.
Blinken returned to Israel on Monday to meet with Netanyahu. Miller said earlier that Blinken discussed in their meeting his "firm support" of Israel's right to defend itself and efforts to provide humanitarian aid and free hostages.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
2,000 US military personnel available for possible deployment to Middle East
The Pentagon has placed about 2,000 American troops on a heightened state of readiness to possibly deploy to the Middle East if they're needed, a U.S. official confirmed. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
If these units are deployed, their purpose would be to serve as a deterrent.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez
Hostages suffering from amputated limbs, severe injuries from rape: Israeli forum
The Israeli hostages in Gaza include an elderly women with Parkinson's disease, a 60-year-old man with multiple sclerosis and children with autism, according to the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
Other hostages are suffering from amputated limbs and severe injuries from rape, the group said.
The hostages are "enduring extreme conditions as time runs critically short," the group said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said its met with Hamas leadership and is pushing Hamas for immediate release of the hostages.
The Red Cross is also asking Hamas to allow access to the hostages to provide care and to permit hostages to communicate with their families.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
Israeli airstrike hits road close to Rafah border
An Israeli airstrike struck a road close to the Rafah border crossing and also hit a nearby United Nations Relief and Works Agency warehouse, according to an Egyptian military source.
This is the fourth strike near the border since the war began.
US citizens in Gaza urged to move south
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Sunday morning urged U.S. citizens trapped in the Gaza Strip to move to southern Gaza along the main highway, the Salah al-Din Street.
U.S. citizens who can do so safely were advised by the embassy to flee to the south of the Gaza Valley toward the city of Khan Younis as U.S. officials work on potential options for getting them out of Gaza.
As of Sunday morning, the only exit to the south of Gaza, the Rafah crossing at the Egyptian border, remained closed to all seeking to flee Gaza, officials said.
But Tala Herzallah, a Palestinian woman trapped in Gaza, told ABC News Sunday that Israel Defense Forces are continuing to bomb both Khan Younis and Rafah, saying homes were hit in the areas Saturday night.
"They’re telling us to move there, and then they are bombing the houses there without warning people," Herzallah said.
The military conflict between Israel and Hamas is ongoing, making identifying departure options for U.S. citizens complex, the U.S. Embassy said.
Embassy officials encouraged U.S. citizens to complete a crisis intake form to provide contact information "should we need to reach out to you on short notice."
-ABC News' Clark Bentson