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.
Names of Israeli hostages freed on Saturday
The Israeli government released the names of the 13 Israeli hostages released on Saturday by Hamas.
The freed hostages, according to the Israeli Office of the Prime Minister, are:
Freed hostages return to Israel: IDF
The 17 released hostages, accompanied by the Israel Defense Forces special forces, are now in Israeli territory, the IDF said.
"After undergoing an initial medical assessment, they will continue to be accompanied by IDF soldiers as they make their way to Israeli hospitals, where they will be reunited with their families," the IDF said in a statement.
Those released Saturday included eight Israelis ages 18 and under, including one as young as 3, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
The four foreigners released Saturday are all of Thai nationality, the IDF said.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
17 hostages transferred to Egypt, IDF says
According to the Israel Defense Forces, Red Cross representatives have transferred 17 hostages to Egypt -- including 13 Israeli detainees and four foreigners.
Qatar had previously said seven foreigners would be released Saturday, though has also since updated that figure to four.
The released hostages' convoy is currently making its way through Egypt to the meeting point with IDF soldiers in Kerem Shalom, where the IDF will verify the list, the military said.
The families of the hostages are being updated by IDF representatives with the latest available information.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
'Significant progress' in Saturday's hostage release, IDF says
Following a delay by Hamas, there has been "significant progress" in the efforts to release the hostages from the Gaza Strip Saturday night, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said.
"The effort to return the hostages is our moral and ethical duty. We are determined to fulfil this in any way," the spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, said at a press briefing Saturday evening. "The effort tonight is progressing and we will inform the families and the public when things happen. Patience is required."
"There is significant progress," he continued, though noted that "nothing is final until it actually happens."
Hagari said Israel will "go back to fighting" if the hostage agreement is not fulfilled.
-ABC News' Jordana Miller
4-year-old Abigail Idan among the hostages released Sunday: Israeli PM's office
Abigail Idan, a 4-year-old Israeli American, was among the 17 hostages released to the Red Cross on Sunday, according to the Israeli prime minister's office.
Abigail, who turned 4 on Friday, was taken hostage on Oct. 7 after her parents were killed by Hamas terrorists, according to Israeli officials.
Another Israeli American, Aviva Adrian Siegel, 62, was also freed on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister's office said.
"We were overjoyed. Couldn't believe it," Siegel's brother-in-law, David Siegel told ABC News, adding that the family had been doubtful she would be released.
The Israel Defense Forces said 13 hostages were returned to Israel accompanied by IDF forces and are now in Israeli territory, with 12 being escorted to the Hatzerim base and another having gone to a hospital. Four more hostages are on their way to the Rafah crossing, the IDF said.
Other Israeli hostages released on Sunday were identified by the Israeli prime minister's office as: