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.
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.
31 premature babies evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital: WHO
The World Health Organization confirmed earlier claims by the Palestinian Health Ministry that 31 "very sick" babies were safely transported from Al-Shifa Hospital to another hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday.
The premature infants were evacuated to the Emirates Hospital in Rafah, WHO officials said.
The babies were "clinging to life," the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement, and their "condition was rapidly deteriorating."
The babies are expected to be transferred to another hospital in Egypt, said Dr. Ashraf al Qwadwa, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Health Ministry. He said nine premature babies have died since the start of a fuel crisis in Gaza prompted by the ongoing conflict.
Six health workers at the Al Shifa Hospital and 10 family members of staff there were also evacuated on Sunday along with the babies, according to the WHO statement, adding that further missions are planned to "urgently transport" the remaining patients and health staff out of the hospital.
-ABC News' Nasser Atta