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
Israel says no electricity will be turned on in Gaza until hostages are returned
As the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said no electrical switch will be turned on, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter Gaza until the Israeli hostages are returned home.
Gaza relies on Israel for most of its power, which was cut off following the attack. Its sole power plant ran out of fuel on Wednesday.
No plans for US troops on the ground in Israel
The White House said there are no intentions to send U.S. troops to Israel.
"The Israelis have made it very clear that they don't want foreign troops on their soil. That they want to prosecute these operations on their own and they have every right to want to do that," said John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council.
Kirby said the U.S. would "do everything we can to improve" the capabilities of the Israeli military.
And as humanitarian concerns grow in Gaza, Kirby told reporters that there are "ongoing conversations" with Israeli counterparts about the need for the "continued flow of humanitarian assistance" to the area.
-ABC News' Justin Gomez and Molly Nagle
27 Americans among the dead: Kirby
The death toll of American citizens in Israel now stands at 27, John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said at a White House briefing on Thursday.
Fourteen Americans remain unaccounted for.
Blinken: 'Depravity in the worst imaginable way'
At a news conference Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the gruesome photos and videos shown to him behind closed doors by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It’s beyond what anyone would ever want to imagine, much less, God forbid, experience. A baby, an infant -- riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded. Young people, burned alive," he said. "I could go on, but it’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way."
Blinken said that some of the images had been seen before, but others were new to him, and again said that Hamas’ acts harkened back to ISIS.
"I think for any human being to see this -- it’s really beyond almost anything that we can comprehend, digest," Blinken continued. "You can’t help but imagine yourself, your family, your loved ones, your friends in that situation, in that predicament and maybe the best word for it for me is overwhelming."
While some of the claims made by the IDF have been questioned and others have fueled online claims that the Israeli government is spreading disinformation, Blinken said that the photos would ultimately show exactly the horrors its people have confronted and serve to unify through "moral clarity."
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
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