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:
IDF claims to have evidence showing they are not responsible for hospital attack
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces claimed during a news conference they have evidence they were not responsible for the strike on a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
Daniel Magari told reporters that the IDF plans to release evidence showing Israeli forces were not responsible for the attack.
Magari claimed there were no IDF air strikes next to the hospital. He added there was an "air force event" but it used a different kind of ammunition.
"We don't have any indication that it hit the hospital, but it does not fit the footage that we have in the hospital," he said.
-ABC News' Ellie Kaufman
President departs for trip to Israel
President Joe Biden departed via Air Force One at 5:55 p.m. ET for his trip to Israel.
The president is expected to arrive early Wednesday morning and meet with Israeli leaders about the ongoing conflict.
A planned meeting in Jordan with King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been canceled, according to a U.S. official, who added it was a "mutual decision."
"The president sent his deepest condolences for the innocent lives lost in the hospital explosion in Gaza, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded. He looks forward to consulting in person with these leaders soon, and agreed to remain regularly and directly engaged with each of them over the coming days," a White House official said.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce
Biden departs White House to Joint Base Andrews for Israel trip
President Joe Biden has departed the White House and is en route to Joint Base Andrews where he will depart for Israel.
He is expected to meet with Israeli officials on Wednesday.
-ABC News' Mary Bruce
Hamas mulling release of some hostages: Senior US official
Hamas is considering releasing women and children hostages who aren't Israeli through negotiations with Qatar, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
Roughly 50 of the hostages are non-Israeli, including some Americans, according to the official.
The official added that the majority of the hostages are being held in tunnels underneath Gaza.
-ABC News' Martha Raddatz
Humanitarian worker in Gaza talks dire wait for aid
It’s not money that people in the Gaza Strip need right now, but rather food, water, medicine and other basic necessities, according to a humanitarian worker there.
"If we have money, we can’t buy anything. There's nothing to buy in the stores, it’s empty shelves," Omar Alnajjar, project manager for nonprofit Save Your Future, told ABC News in a telephone interview from the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
As Israeli forces continue to bomb "terror targets" in Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 attack carried out by the Hamas militant group that governs the territory, an estimated 1 million people are displaced there, including over 520,000 people staying in "emergency shelters in increasingly dire conditions," according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
That's why it's crucial Egypt allows humanitarian aid convoys parked at its northwestern border with Gaza to cross into the war-torn territory and deliver the lifesaving supplies as soon as possible, Alnajjar said. But as of Friday afternoon, the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing remains closed.
"People are just waiting," he added.
-ABC News' Ibtissem Guenfoud, James Longman and Morgan Winsor