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.
Over 1,200 Americans and relatives trying to leave Gaza: State Department
A little more than 1,200 Americans and their eligible family members are waiting to leave Gaza, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.
About 800 Americans and eligible family members have already left Gaza, Miller said.
Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, another six Americans have died: one was an Israeli national police border officer and five were members of the Israel Defense Forces, Miller said. At least 33 Americans were killed in Israel on Oct. 7 during Hamas' attack, according to American officials.
-ABC News' Shannon Crawford
Biden says he believes hostage deal is near
President Joe Biden said Monday he thinks negotiators are close to reaching a deal to release hostages from Gaza.
When asked at the White House turkey pardon if a deal is near, Biden responded, "I believe so, but I’m not prepared to talk to …"
"You believe so?" reporters followed up, cutting off Biden's initial comment. Biden replied, "Yes," before holding up crossed fingers.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday, "We believe we’re closer than we’ve ever been, so we’re hopeful. But there’s still work to be done, and nothing is done until it's all done, so we’re gonna keep working on this."
Kirby wouldn't say if the deal was focused on securing the release of women and children and wouldn't discuss a potential timeframe the administration was looking at for a deal to be announced.
"I think the less said the better as we get into ... what we hope is the end game here on negotiations. It's probably safer if I don’t go into much speculating," Kirby said.
-ABC News' Molly Nagle
Israeli forces will be operating in southern Gaza soon: Source
While southern Gaza is deemed safer than northern Gaza, Israel will be operating in southern Gaza soon, according to an Israeli official.
The official said operations in southern Gaza will be more "targeted."
The official said the actual "safe" zone would be in the sparsely populated Muwassi area in southwest Gaza.
But the official said Israeli forces would still strike there if need be.
Al-Qaida calls for attacks against US, Israeli targets
Al-Qaida, citing Gaza's Al-Shifa Hospital, 9/11 and Benghazi, released a new statement calling for its followers to attack U.S. and Israeli targets, especially embassies, and to attack where they are without warning.
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