Israel-Gaza updates: 17 more hostages released, including 4-year-old American girl, officials say

Fourteen Israeli and three foreign hostages were released Sunday, the IDF said.

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.

Click here for updates from previous days.


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.


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Cease-fire, hostage release will not happen before Friday: Senior Israeli official

The cease-fire and negotiated release of hostages from Hamas will not start until Friday, a senior Israeli official told ABC News.

The official said there is no danger of the deal falling apart before that day.

Earlier, Israeli National Security Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said the cease-fire was expected to begin Thursday at 10 a.m. and no hostages would be released before Friday.


Israeli cabinet has list of hostages expected to be released

The Israeli cabinet now has the list of hostages expected to be released, according to an Israeli official.

Hamas and Israel agreed to a cease-fire lasting for at least four days to allow the release of at least 50 hostages -- women and children -- captured by Hamas from Israel on Oct. 7, in exchange for at least 150 Palestinians -- women and teenagers -- currently being held in Israeli prisons.

It is expected that the cease-fire and the prisoner swap will begin Thursday morning.

Families of the hostages held by Hamas will only be notified after the hostages are in Israeli hands, the Israeli official said.


Israeli Supreme Court rejects appeal against hostage deal

Israel's Supreme Court rejected the only appeal submitted thus far against the hostage deal, clearing the way for the deal to go through.

Israeli law requires a 24-hour waiting period after the vote before the agreement can be put into action.

It is expected that the cease-fire and the prisoner swap will begin Thursday morning.


Families of American hostages speak out

The families of American hostages said they are "thrilled" 50 hostages are expected to be released, but added, "We are not going to rest until every single hostage is returned"

The families also said they "request an immediate update on whether our family members are alive and well."

The families thanked President Joe Biden for his work on the hostage deal, adding, "We call on all world leaders to continue prioritizing this goal."

The whereabouts of nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. permanent resident are unknown, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. He said it's unclear whether they were among the hundreds of people who were taken hostage by Hamas.

"We don't know for certain that all 10 are still alive and we’ve been honest about that -- what we know and what we don't know," Sullivan told ABC News' "Good Morning America" on Wednesday. "We know that among those 10, three are women and children -- two women one child. And we believe that those three will be among the 50 who are released."

"Until we actually see them come out, be in the arms of their loved ones, get home safely, we cannot be fully confident," he added.


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