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.
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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.
Netanyahu confirms return of first group of hostages
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a statement that the transfer to Isreal of the first group of hostages has been completed.
"We have now completed the return of the first of our abductees. Children, their mothers and other women. Each and every one of them is a whole world," Netanyahu said in his statement.
Netanyahu emphasized to the families of the hostages and to all Israeli citizens, "We are committed to the return of all our abductees."
"This is one of the goals of the war and we are committed to achieving all the goals of the war," Netanyahu said.
-ABC News' Matt Gutman
Freed hostages in hands of IDF Special Forces in Israeli territory
The released hostages have now been transferred to Israel Defense Forces Special Forces inside Israeli territory, an IDF spokesperson said.
IDF Special Forces and ISA Forces are currently with the released hostages, who underwent an initial medical assessment inside Israeli territory, according to the IDF. The released hostages will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families, Israeli officials said.
The IDF, together with the entire Israeli security establishment, will continue operating until all the hostages are returned home, Israeli officials said.
An IDF spokesperson reiterated the importance of demonstrating patience and sensitivity during this time out of respect for the released hostages and their families.
-ABC News' Matt Gutman
Hamas releases total of 24 hostages on Friday as part of truce
A total of 24 hostages were freed by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday as part of a temporary truce with Israel, ABC News has learned.
The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is facilitating the release and transfer of the hostages, issued a statement confirming "the safe release of 24 hostages."
"We have facilitated this release by transporting them from Gaza to the Rafah border, marking the real-life impact of our role as a neutral intermediary between the parties," the ICRC added.
Qatar, which along with Egypt and the United States mediated the negotiations between Hamas and Israel, also issued a statement from its foreign ministry confirming that the hostages who were released on Friday "include 13 Israeli citizens, some of whom are dual citizens, in addition to 10 Thai citizens and one Filipino citizen."
"We also confirm the release of 39 women and children detained in Israeli prisons accordance with the terms of the first day of the agreement," a spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Earlier, Thailand said 12 of its nationals held by Hamas were freed on Friday.
All 24 hostages crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing. They will be transported to hospitals in Israel, sources told ABC News.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Will Gretsky, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
1st group of Israeli hostages released by Hamas reach Egyptian soil
The first group of Israeli hostages released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip are now on Egyptian soil and in the custody of Israeli security services, two sources in the Israeli prime minister's office with direct knowledge of the operation told ABC News on Friday evening.
Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, also confirmed with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which is facilitating the release and transfer of hostages, that they have crossed into Egypt from Gaza.
-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Will Gretsky, Jordana Miller and Morgan Winsor
1st group of Israeli hostages freed by Hamas in Gaza, sources say
The first group of Israeli hostages have been released by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross, two sources briefed on the matter told ABC News.
The sources said the Red Cross has the hostages and that the "operation" to get them home has begun.
It was expected that 13 Israeli hostages would be freed by Hamas near Gaza's border with Egypt on Friday in a prisoner exchange deal. But it was unclear exactly how many were handed over to the Red Cross.
-ABC News' Matt Gutman and Morgan Winsor