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:
Biden administration requests delay in Israel's Gaza ground incursion
The Biden administration is asking Israel to delay the looming ground incursion into Gaza to allow time for the release of more hostages and for humanitarian aid to get to civilians in Gaza, an administration official told ABC News Sunday.
The administration continues to impress upon the Israelis their concerns and the full array of consequences for a speedy ground incursion.
Two American hostages, 59-year-old Judith Raanan, and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie Raanan, were released by Hamas on Friday.
President Joe Biden received a briefing from his national security team Sunday morning on the Israel-Hamas conflict and the president later spoke to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The leaders discussed ongoing efforts to release all the remaining hostages and to provide a way out for U.S. citizens and others in Gaza, White House officials said.
The Israel Defense Forces said Sunday that 212 hostages remain in captivity in Gaza.
-ABC News' Selina Wang
Aid in Gaza has yet to be distributed: UNRWA spokeswoman
The much-needed aid on 17 trucks that crossed into Gaza from Egypt earlier Sunday has yet to be distributed, according to a U.N. Relief and Works Agency spokeswoman.
It’s unclear what's causing the delay, and multiple United Nations agencies -- the World Food Programme, UNRWA and UNICEF -- told ABC News they're also trying to figure out what has led to the holdup.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Brandon Baur and Matt Rivers
IDF soldier killed, 3 others injured inside Gaza during raid: IDF
An IDF soldier was killed and three others were injured during operational activity in the Gaza Strip in the area of kibbutz Kissufim, according to an IDF statement Sunday.
"An IDF soldier was killed, one was moderately injured, and two were lightly injured as a result of an anti-tank missile launched toward an IDF tank and an engineering vehicle," the statement said. "This occurred during a local raid carried out earlier today in the Gaza Strip, in the area of the Kibbutz Kissufim. This activity was part of the effort to dismantle terror infrastructure, clear the area of terrorists, weapons, and locate missing persons and bodies," the IDF added.
According to a Hamas statement Sunday, the IDF forces were operating only several meters inside Gaza.
29 UN personnel killed in Gaza, UNRWA says
Twenty-nine U.N. personnel have been killed in Gaza, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency said Sunday.
"Half of these colleagues were [UNRWA] teachers," it said. "As an Agency, we are devastated."
-ABC News' Rashid Haddou
Israeli official: Gaza aid must not go to Hamas
Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said Tuesday that officials plan to create "safe zones" in southern Gaza as the only places where residents can receive humanitarian aid.
The aid would be "on one condition," Hanegbi said in Hebrew. "If this aid does not reach civilians, but goes to murderers, [the safe zones] will simply not exist."