Israel-Gaza updates: Israeli forces preparing for 'wide range of offensive plans'

In an interview with ABC News' Phil Lipof, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said they are preparing for an "intensification of our combat operations."

"The aim of our operation is to dismantle Hamas and its military capabilities to make sure that Hamas will never again have the ability to kill or abduct or threaten Israeli civilians," Conricus said.

Conricus said more than 400,000 people have evacuated Gaza to the south before it becomes an "active combat zone." Asked about the risk to civilians who remain, he conceded it will be a "difficult and dangerous" environment for them.

"Wherever applicable and wherever the situation on the ground allows us to do so, we will spare the life of civilians and we will try to apply our force in such a way that it causes minimal damage to civilians," he said.

"We will do our best not to strike civilians. They are not our enemy," he added.

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'This is a war, not another military operation': IDF spokespersonInternational spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Jonathan Conricus joins ABC News Live to discuss the country's anticipated ground incursion into Gaza.

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Iran's Mission to the United Nations warned Saturday of "far-reaching consequences" if Israel doesn't stop attacking Gaza.

"If the Israeli apartheid’s war crimes & genocide are not halted immediately, the situation could spiral out of control & ricochet far-reaching consequences," Iran's Mission to the UN said on X, adding the responsibility lies with the international community.

Earlier Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian also called on Israel to stop its attacks, warning that the conflict could spread, The Associated Press reported.

The USS Eisenhower carrier strike group will move to the Eastern Mediterranean to join the USS Ford carrier strike group that arrived there earlier this week, a senior U.S. official and a U.S. official told ABC News.

U.S. officials have said publicly this week that the presence of the USS Ford carrier strike group in the Eastern Mediterranean was intended as a deterrent to Iran and Hezbollah, not to get involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The Eisenhower joining the Ford will increase the show of force enhancing that message of deterrence.

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USS Eisenhower carrier strike group to move to Eastern MediterraneanThe USS Eisenhower carrier strike group will move to the Eastern Mediterranean to join the USS Ford carrier strike group, a senior U.S. official and a U.S. official told ABC News.

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The Eisenhower strike group includes the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower and the cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG-58), and the destroyers USS Laboon (DDG-58), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Gravely (DDG-107).

The strike group left Norfolk, Virginia, on Saturday bound for a previously scheduled deployment that would take it to the Middle East via the Mediterranean Sea. While in the Mediterranean it was to have participated in previously-scheduled exercises in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.

Earlier this week the Pentagon issued a statement that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin would "continue to review both the Eisenhower and Ford’s deployment plans as he considers the appropriate balance of maritime capability across theaters in support of national security priorities."

-ABC News' Martha Raddatz and Luis Martinez

Twenty-nine Americans have been confirmed dead in Israel, according to a State Department spokesperson, up from 27.

Additionally, 15 U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident of the U.S. are still unaccounted for, the spokesperson said.

"State Department personnel have been in contact with their families," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The U.S. government is working around the clock to determine their whereabouts and is working with the Israeli government on every aspect of the hostage crisis, including sharing intelligence and deploying experts from across the United States government to advise the Israeli government on hostage recovery efforts."

-ABC News' Shannon K. Crawford