Israel-Gaza updates: Nasser Hospital no longer 'functional,' WHO chief says

Members of the Israeli forces that saved two hostages from Rafah, shielded the hostages from gunfire with their own bodies during the rescue operation, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari told reporters during a briefing early Monday morning.

"Police SWAT team members protected the hostages with their own bodies" during the firefight that ensued when Israeli forces entered the room where the hostages were being held, Hagari said.

The rescue operation began at 1:49 a.m. local time on Monday, when IDF forces "breached the building," he said. Armed Hamas militants were on the second floor, Hagari told reporters.

Israeli forces had been preparing for the operation to save the two hostages "for a while," Hagari said.

-ABC News' Dana Savir

Two male hostages were rescued from Gaza, the IDF said in a briefing early Monday morning local time. The hostages are both alive and in "good medical condition," the IDF said in a release.

The two hostages -- Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70 -- are back in Israel and were brought to Sheba Tel Hashomer hospital, the IDF said. They were both kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak on Oct. 7.

The special operation to rescue the two hostages from Rafah in Gaza started around 1 a.m. local time, IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters during a briefing early Monday morning.

"The two hostages were rescued from the second floor of a residential building in Rafah," Hecht said. The forces breached the building "with a charge," Hecht said.

Hecht added that air cover was provided, and there was also fire to the surrounding buildings.

-ABC News' Dana Savir

The IDF said Sunday it had conducted strikes on what it called "terror targets" in the area of Al-Shabura in the southern Gaza Strip.

According to ABC News' reporter in Gaza, the airstrikes by military aircraft and helicopters targeted homes and mosques in several areas of the city of Rafah, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.

At least 63 people were killed and dozens were injured as a result of the Israeli bombing of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said.

Also Sunday, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a post on X that nine of their staff and some patients were arrested at Al-Amal hospital in Khan Yunis.

"This incident took place as the displaced were evacuated from Al-Amal Hospital, which continues to be besieged for the twenty-first day in a row," PRCS said in the post.

The IDF, however, said in a release Sunday they arrested a group of "terrorists" that were hiding in Al-Amal Hospital.

(Editor's note -- Al-Shabura is Rafah)

-ABC News' Sami Zayara and Victoria Beaule

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Sunday in their first call since Biden delivered his strongest rebuke yet of Israel's military operations in Gaza, with Biden calling the Israeli forces' actions "over the top."

In their Sunday call, Biden told Netanyahu a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where many Palestinians have fled to for safety, "should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring" civilian safety, the White House said in a statement.

More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population has sought refuge in Rafah after being displaced from their homes since Israel's military offensive began, according to the United Nations.

When asked about Biden's remark in a Sunday interview with ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl, Netanyahu said, "I don't know exactly what he [Biden] meant by that, but put yourself in Israel's shoes. We were attacked. … I think we've responded in a way that goes after the terrorists and tries to minimize the civilian population."

A senior administration official told reporters that Biden's "over the top" comment was "not specifically addressed" during the two leaders’ call on Sunday. Biden instead reiterated that he wants to see Hamas defeated, though it "must be done while ensuring that operations are … conducted in a way that ensures innocents are protected to the extent possible," the official said.

When pressed on if Israel has indicated whether moving more than 1 million civilians in Rafah out of harm’s way is feasible, the senior official said that Israel has "made clear they would not contemplate an operation without it."

The official added that plans to get enough U.S.-procured flour to feed nearly 1.5 million Gazan residents over six months are "coming along," but that logistical issues need to be worked out.

In Biden’s nearly 45-minute phone call with Netanyahu, the two leaders spent about two-thirds of the conversation discussing the ongoing hostage deal negotiations, the senior official said.

The official said a framework for the hostage deal, which has been "a primary focus" for Biden over the last month, is now in place, though there are gaps that need to be worked through. Later, the official conceded that some of those gaps are "significant," but said progress has been made in the last three weeks.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow