Israel-Gaza updates: Biden speaks with Netanyahu about hostages' release, Gaza humanitarian assistance
The hostages are two elderly women who are both Israeli nationals.
Thousands of people have died and thousands more were injured after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel retaliated with a bombing campaign and total siege of the neighboring Gaza Strip, leaving the region on the verge of all-out war.
At least 1,400 people have died and 4,629 others have been injured in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. In Gaza, 5,087 people have died and 15,273 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Health Authority.
Aid workers and officials fear that Israel's call for an evacuation of the northern part of Gaza is precipitating a humanitarian disaster as electricity and other supplies have been cut off in preparation for what appears to be an imminent ground offensive.
Humanitarian groups have urged Israel to call off the evacuation and agree to a cease-fire, even as the country has asserted a right to defend itself -- a right the United States endorses.
Click here for previous updates.
Latest headlines:
203 people taken hostage from Israel, IDF says
A total of 203 hostages have been taken from Israel since Hamas militants attacked on Oct. 7, Israel’s military said.
At least 306 members of the Israeli military have been killed, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.
-ABC News' Morgan Winsor
IDF says it's attacked Hezbollah targets
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday morning that it had attacked Hezbollah targets on the northern Israeli border with Lebanon.
"Among the targets, an observation post towards the sea was attacked from where anti-tank fire was launched at Rosh Hankara yesterday," the IDF said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The IDF said the attacks were carried out due to "incidents of shooting at Israel in the last day."
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
British PM to visit Israel Thursday
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit Israel and meet with Israeli leaders on Thursday, his office announced.
The two-day trip will include meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog "before traveling to a number of other regional capitals," his office said in a statement.
“The attack on al-Ahli Hospital should be a watershed moment for leaders in the region and across the world to come together to avoid further dangerous escalation of conflict. I will ensure the UK is at the forefront of this effort.” Sunak said in a statement.
The prime minister "will stress that any civilian death is a tragedy and tell fellow leaders that, as an international community," Sunak's office said in a statement.
-ABC News' Mike Trew and Ellie Kaufman
White House provides more detailed assessment of Gaza hospital explosion
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson released a statement Wednesday providing more details about their assessment that Israel was not responsible for the hospital explosion in Gaza that killed over 500 people.
"Intelligence indicates that some Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip believed that the explosion was likely caused by an errant rocket or missile launch carried out by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). The militants were still investigating what had happened," she said in the statement.
Watson reiterated that intelligence officials are "continuing to work to corroborate whether it was a failed PIJ rocket."
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson
Protests erupt across Middle East, Africa following Gaza hospital blast
Protests have erupted across the Middle East and North Africa following an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds Tuesday night.
Israel and Hamas have traded blame for the explosion with the Israeli military claiming it was a result of a “failed rocket launch by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization,” while Hamas has said it was the result of an Israeli airstrike.
Protests turned violent outside the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, where tear gas was deployed.
U.S. Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said protesters damaged private property in the neighborhood surrounding the U.S. Embassy, but Embassy personnel and facilities remain safe.
At the U.S. consulate in Adana, Turkey, there were reports overnight of large-scale protests, attempts to breach the compound and demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails.
The State Department said the U.S. consulate in Adana will be closed to the public until further notice.
Crowds also gathered in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan.
Click here to read more.