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.

Click here for updates from previous days.


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.


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75 women among Palestinian prisoners in Israel: Advocacy group

Approximately 75 Palestinian women, five teenage girls and 200 boys -- mostly teenagers -- are detained in Israel, according to a spokesperson for Addameer, a group which monitors the treatment of Palestinian prisoners.

Before the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct. 7, about 150 Palestinian boys, as well as 30 women and girls, were in Israeli prisons, the spokesperson said.

According to the newly brokered deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners would be released by Israel in exchange for at least 50 hostages released by Hamas. The deal also includes a four-day pause in hostilities.


Norwegian Refugee Council: 4-day pause not enough

Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in a statement that the planned four-day pause in hostilities "is not enough time to address the immense needs after six weeks of fighting, bloodshed, and destruction."

Egeland said the pause "must pave the way for a lasting cease-fire."

"Small shelters have housed scores of people, with little food and water and mounting health hazards. Children are traumatized, and many face a future without their parents and siblings," Egeland said. "They need urgent, long-term help. This can only happen through a sustained cease-fire."


Israeli Hostage Center: 'No victory until every last hostage returns home'

In the wake of the approved hostage deal, in which Hamas would release 50 of the approximately 236 people taken hostage from Israel, the Israeli Hostage Center said in a statement, "There is no victory until every last hostage returns home."

The release of the at least 50 hostages would come over the course of a four-day pause in hostilities, Israel's prime minister said, and as a part of this deal, 150 Palestinian prisoners will also be released by Israel.

The hostage center said it demands "the current cease-fire terms ensure both security and welfare for remaining hostages held by Hamas, including the promised Red Cross visits."


Hostilities continue before deal on hostages, temporary truce goes into effect

IDF and Hamas continued hostilities hours after reaching a deal for a temporary truce and the release of some of the hostages being held by Hamas.

Israel's Cabinet voted to agree to the deal with Hamas early Wednesday morning, however, the temporary cease-fire has not started yet. The cease-fire was expected to begin Thursday, however, in a late Wednesday night update, Israeli officials said it would start Friday and no hostages would be released until then.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement early Wednesday that it "is continuing to operate in the Gaza Strip, including striking terrorist infrastructure, killing terrorists, and locating weapons."

"This morning, IDF troops neutralized a terror tunnel shaft from which a Hamas terrorist exited and fired at the soldiers," the IDF said. "Moreover, IDF troops identified terrorists and located weapons in a structure used by the Hamas terrorist organization. The troops killed the terrorists and destroyed the structure."

Rockets launched by militants continued to be fired toward Israel on Wednesday.

The deal between Israel and Hamas was mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States. Israeli law requires a 24-hour waiting period after the vote before the agreement can be put into action, during which time the Supreme Court of Israel may need to get involved in the event of any legal challenges. However, it is expected that the cease-fire and the prisoner swap will begin Thursday morning.

This post has been updated for clarity.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti and Morgan Winsor


Hamas delays release of hostages over alleged 'violations' of cease-fire agreement

Hamas announced that it will be delaying the release of Israeli hostages, accusing Israel of violating the cease-fire agreement regarding aid trucks and the agreed-upon terms for the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The Al-Qassam Brigades -- the armed wing of Hamas -- said it had decided to delay Saturday's scheduled second round of hostage releases until Israel committed to allowing aid trucks to enter northern Gaza. Hamas was expected to release 13 Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 39 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel on Saturday, sources told ABC News.

"The Al-Qassam Brigades decides to delay the release of the second batch of hostages until the occupation adheres to the terms of the agreement regarding the entry of relief trucks into the northern Gaza Strip, and due to its failure to adhere to the agreed-upon criteria for releasing prisoners," Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Hamas leader Osama Hamdan, who is based in Lebanon, said relief trucks that arrived in northern Gaza today were half of the number that was agreed upon.

"There are violations committed by the Israelis in implementing the terms of the truce, some of which occurred yesterday and were repeated today," Hamdan said Saturday, adding that another issue at stake was the reported shooting of two Palestinians on Friday as they tried to reach northern Gaza.

A senior Israeli political source told ABC News that Israel did not violate the agreement. The IDF said about 200 trucks carrying humanitarian aid are expected to enter Gaza today, after 200 trucks with aid entered Gaza yesterday via the Rafah crossing and delivered their cargo to international aid organizations.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said 61 trucks carrying food, water and medical supplies headed to northern Gaza on Saturday, the largest aid convoy to reach the area since the start of the war.

-ABC News' Ayat Al-Tawy, Nasser Atta, Jordana Miller