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.
Released hostages flown by helicopter to Israel hospitals
Twenty-two of the 24 Israeli and foreign citizens released by Hamas on Friday were first taken to the Hatzerim Air Force base in Israel before being transferred by military helicopters to hospitals, where they are to be reunited with their families, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Two Israeli citizens were taken directly to hospitals by ambulance, the IDF said.
The returning hostages were escorted by IDF personnel, including medical personnel, the IDF said. IDF representatives were with the family members of the hostages to give them regular updates on the release of their loved ones, the IDF said.
Israeli Air Force helicopters were waiting at Hatzerim base to fly the returnees to the hospitals, according to the IDF.
-ABC News' Matt Gutman
Israel releases info on freed Palestinian prisoners
Thirty-nine Palestinian prisoners were released Friday evening in accordance with the deal between Hamas and Israel to free hostages in Gaza.
"Tonight we finished the first day of our mission to bring the abductees home," Rabbi Gondar Cathy Perry, commissioner of prisons, said in a statement. "We will continue in the coming days to act as much as is required of us in order to support the national effort."
Those who were released included female security prisoners and minor security prisoners, according to the Israel Prison Service.
They were released from three prisons: Damon, Megiddo and Ofer. Perry visited the prisons to oversee the operations, according to the Israel Prison Service.
-ABC News' Will Gretsky
IDF releases video of moment hostages reached Israeli territory
The Israel Defense Forces has released a video of the exact moment vehicles returned the group of hostages freed Friday back to Israeli territory.
The group of Israeli hostages, held for 47 days in Gaza, crossed into Egypt from Gaza via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah border crossing. They will be transported to hospitals in Israel, sources told ABC News.
Names released of the freed Israeli hostages
The Israeli government released the names of the Israeli hostages released on Friday by Hamas.
All of the hostages released Friday were abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz, according to a spokesperson.
The freed hostages, according to the Israeli Office of the Prime Minister, are:
The government together with all the security forces will accompany them and their families.
American hostage could be released Sunday: Jake Sullivan
One American hostage could be released from Gaza on Sunday as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC "This Week."
"This first set of hostages, 50 hostages over four days, is women and children -- and three Americans [are] in that category, two women and one child," Sullivan told "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl. "We have reason to believe one of those Americans will be released today."
Still, Sullivan cautioned, "Until we actually see her safe and sound ... we cannot have 100% certainty that it will happen. So we're going to watch this hour by hour and hopefully have a moment of joy where one of the Americans is safely out and ultimately reunited with her family. That's what we are waiting for as we speak."
-ABC News' Tal Alexrod