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.
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Latest headlines:
UK government advises citizens to leave Lebanon
The United Kingdom issued an advisory to its citizens living in Lebanon to "leave now while commercial options remain available."
The advisory warned of ongoing mortar, artillery exchanges and airstrikes in the southern part of the country which borders Israel. It also stated there's "a risk of civil unrest."
"Events in Lebanon are fast moving. The situation has potential to deteriorate quickly and with no warning," the government said in the advisory.
The government warned that "the British Embassy may be increasingly limited in the assistance that it can provide," if things escalate.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
Biden to address US response to Hamas' attacks Thursday
The White House announced that President Joe Biden will "address the nation to discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine," in a televised address from the Oval Office at Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
Congressional Intelligence Committees confident hospital blast wasn't result of Israeli military action
The chairman and vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said in a statement that, based on intelligence received by the committee, they believe Tuesday's blast at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds was not the result of an Israeli airstrike.
“The Senate Intelligence Committee has received and reviewed intelligence related to the attack on al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Based on this information, we feel confident that the explosion was the result of a failed rocket launch by militant terrorists and not the result of an Israeli airstrike," Sens. Mark Warner and Marco Rubio said in a joint statement Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner and Ranking Member Jim Himes drew similar conclusions.
"Based on information the House Intelligence Committee received from the Administration regarding the hospital attack in Gaza, we believe this was not the result of Israeli military action," Turner and Himes said.
The hospital blast killed at least 471 and injured another 314 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
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. Two U.S. officials told ABC News the Pentagon independently concluded the blast was likely caused by an errant Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket that fell short of its target.
-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Protesters gather at Capitol calling for ceasefire
A large group of protesters from Jewish Voice for Peace is demonstrating in the Cannon Office Building of the U.S. Capitol complex, calling for a cease-fire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Some are carrying signs reading, "ceasefire" and "let Gaza live.”
Some protesters have been arrested.
Outside the Capitol, hundreds of protesters blocked the intersection of Independence Avenue and New Jersey Avenue, directly in front of the Capitol building.
The Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish group that combats antisemitism and other discrimination, has labeled Jewish Voice for Peace as "radical" and "anti-Israel," with views that fall outside the "mainstream Jewish community."
-ABC News' Jay O'Brien, Luke Barr and Jack Date
'Unprecedented catastrophe' unfolding in Gaza: UN
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Work Agency, is urging the foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation "to firmly and unconditionally support the humanitarian efforts to safeguard civilians in Gaza."
"An unprecedented catastrophe is unfolding" in Gaza, Lazzarini said in a statement on Wednesday.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, including women and children, and at least 1 million people have been forced from their homes yet remain trapped in Gaza as food, water and medicine supplies dwindle.
"Not one shipment of aid has been allowed into the Gaza Strip since the start of this conflict due to the full siege imposed," he said.
Lazzarini asked for an immediate end to attacks "targeting civilians and civilian objects, including UN and humanitarian personnel and premises."
He said the delivery of the urgent aid that's needed "can be achieved through an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to allow without further delay, unimpeded and safe access to humanitarian assistance."
He continued, "UNRWA must receive adequate resources. The Agency is short of US$ 100 million for its core budget for this year. … Additionally, UNRWA has issued a Flash Appeal of US$ 104 million for its immediate emergency response to more than a million displaced and vulnerable Palestine Refugees. This appeal will most likely soon be revised upwards."