Israel-Gaza updates: More hostages released, including 4-year-old American girl
Fourteen Israeli and three foreign hostages were released Sunday, the IDF said.
ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: November 26, 2023, 4:32 PM EST
Thousands of people have died and thousands more have been injured since 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.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 1, 6:03 am
What we know about the conflict
The latest outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, has passed the four-month mark.
In the Gaza Strip, at least 30,228 people have been killed and 71,377 others have been wounded by Israeli forces since Oct. 7, according to Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.
In Israel, at least 1,200 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured by Hamas and other Palestinian militants since Oct. 7, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
There has also been a surge in violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed at least 395 people in the territory since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The ongoing war began after Hamas-led militants launched an unprecedented incursion into southern Israel from neighboring Gaza via land, sea and air. Scores of people were killed while more than 200 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. The Israeli military subsequently launched retaliatory airstrikes followed by a ground invasion of Gaza, a 140-square-mile territory where more than 2 million Palestinians have lived under a blockade imposed by Israel and supported by Egypt since Hamas came to power in 2007. Gaza, unlike Israel, has no air raid sirens or bomb shelters.
Nov 25, 2023, 7:13 AM EST
13 Israeli hostages, 39 Palestinians expected to be released Saturday
Hamas is expected to release 13 Israeli hostages in exchange for Israel freeing 39 Palestinian prisoners Saturday as part of an ongoing swap during a four-day cease-fire, sources told ABC News.
Egyptian officials have released the same numbers, saying Egypt has received a list of 13 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel planned to be released Saturday.
Egypt is currently holding intensive talks with the Palestinian and Israeli sides to "secure the release of a larger number" of captives in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners, the head of the State Information Service Diaa Rashwan said.
Earlier, the Israel Prison Service said that it received a list of 42 Palestinian prisoners to be released today -- as part of the agreement between Israel and the Hamas terror group, three prisoners are to be freed for each Israeli let go. Israel said Friday it received the list of abductees who are to be released today following the schedule.
It was not immediately clear if any non-Israeli captives may also be released Saturday.
Nov 24, 2023, 4:53 PM EST
Israel gets new list of hostages to be released Saturday
A new list of hostages to be released on Saturday was handed over to the Israel Defense Forces and Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, Israeli officials said.
The number of hostages to be released was not disclosed. Israeli officials said the list follows the schedule negotiated for freeing the captives in groups over a four-day cease-fire.
4:40
Red Cross says it will 'repeat this process' and reduce family separation
ABC News’ Diane Macedo spoke with International Committee of the Red Cross spokesperson John Straziuso about the hostage and detainee release in Israel and Gaza, and what comes next.
ABCNews.com
On Friday, 24 hostages, including 13 Israelis, were released by Hamas.
Lt. Col. Gal Hirsh, appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of Israeli captives in Gaza, has shared the list with family members of the hostages set to be released, Israeli officials said.
Israeli security officials are checking the list, officials said, adding that more information will be released as needed.
-ABC News Matt Gutman
Nov 24, 2023, 4:22 PM EST
151 more patients evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital: WHO
At least 151 patients at the Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, which has been under siege for days, have been transferred to other medical facilities, the World Health Organization said Friday.
The mission to transfer the patients occurred on Wednesday, according to a statement from WHO.
It was the third mission undertaken in less than a week to move patients, including 31 infants, according to WHO.
The Israel Defense Forces, which raided the hospital last week, claimed Hamas was using the hospital to conceal its military operations and to hold hostages.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society joined WHO in carrying out the transfer of patients, according to the WHO statement.
Most of the patients were transferred to the European Gaza Hospital, according to WHO.
The patients moved in the latest mission included 73 severely ill patients, 18 of whom are dialysis patients, 26 with serious spinal injuries and eight with severe chronic conditions, according to WHO.
The evacuation was described by WHO as a "high-risk mission," saying it occurred over a 20-hour period as intense fighting and shelling continued in proximity of the hospital.
About 100 patients remain at the hospital, according to WHO.
-ABC News' Eric Strauss
Nov 24, 2023, 3:39 PM EST
Biden says release of hostages 'just the beginning'
President Joe Biden said Friday that the release of 24 hostages held by Hamas in Gaza is "just the beginning" of a plan to free 50 of the more than 230 captives over four days.
“It's only a start, but so far it's gone well,” Biden said in a televised address from Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he and first lady Jill Biden are vacationing.
President Biden speaks about the release of hostages from Gaza, in Nantucket, Mass., on Nov. 24, 2023.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
He said Friday's hostage release is part of a deal "reached by extensive U.S. diplomacy, including numerous calls I've made from the Oval Office to leaders across the region," including calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the emir of Qatar.
“All of these hostages have been through a terrible ordeal, and this is the beginning of a long journey of healing for them,” Biden said. “Today has been a product of a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement.”
Biden said that under the deal, more hostages would be released over the next three days with 50 being "our goal." But he added, "We also will not stop until we get these hostages brought home and an answer to their whereabouts.”
Hostages who were abducted by Hamas gunmen during the October 7 attack on Israel are handed over by Hamas militants to the International Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, Nov. 24, 2023.
Hamas Military Media Handout via Reuters
The president said U.S. officials do not know when Americans -- including two women and 4-year-old Abigail Edan, whose parents were killed by Hamas terrorists -- will be among those that are released or their conditions. He added, “We expect it to occur” and that it’s his “hope and expectation” that it “will be soon.”
Biden said the four-day cease-fire that was negotiated for the release of the hostages will allow time to "accelerate and expand humanitarian assistance going into Gaza."
Speaking of the children freed on Friday, one just 2 years old, Biden said, “The teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been through at such a very young age.”
6:03
Biden speaks after first group of hostages released
President Joe Biden addressed the American people Friday following the release of 24 hostages in a deal struck between Hamas and Israel.
