Israel-Gaza updates: Israel says ground operation underway in southern Gaza

Eight relatives of American hostages spoke to reporters in Washington, D.C., before they address the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday afternoon and meet with national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday.

Ronen Neutra, the father of 19-year-old hostage Omer Neutra, said he wants more pressure for soldiers and men held hostage to be released. Omer Neutra is a Long Island native and Israel Defense Forces soldier. His mother, Orna Neutra, said he was pulled from his IDF tank by Hamas and taken into Gaza.

Ruby Chen, father of missing IDF soldier Itay Chen, said having no knowledge of his son's condition is a living hell.

Liz Naftali, relative of 4-year-old Israeli-American hostage Abigail Edan who was released this week, said the families' approach to their meeting with Sullivan is not going to be advising the administration on how to conduct hostage negotiations, but instead to consult with them.

"Abigail coming home is proof that it works -- proof that if we hope, we pray, and we do all the work, these hostages come home," she said. "But we still have a lot of work to do. And we hope that you all will leave here and continue to be partners in this incredibly challenging work."

-ABC News' Noah Minnie and Elizabeth Landers

The Israel Defense Forces said two Israeli-Russian hostages were released by Hamas on Wednesday and are on their way to Israel. The hostages, 50-year-old Yelena Trupanob and her mother, 73-year-old Irena Tati, were released in addition to the list of abductees scheduled to be released Wednesday, the IDF said.

The mother and daughter, who had emigrated from Russia to Israel, were kidnapped from their home at the Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Trupanob's husband was killed and her son, 28, and his girlfriend, 29, are still being held hostage, the IDF said.

Hamas officials said on Wednesday that they've released two female Russian hostages.

"They were handed over to the Red Cross a short while ago as a prelude to handing them over to representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry," Hamas said in a statement via Telegram.

A young couple from southern Gaza planned to marry on Oct. 8 -- but the Israel-Hamas war changed all that.

The house they were going to live in was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

The couple -- not yet married -- spoke to ABC News as they sifted through the rubble, trying to salvage whatever they could.

"How do I feel? Sad. I wanted to be like any bride, to have a house," Heba Abu Taima told ABC News. "Everything was beautiful before the 7th of October. After the 7th of October, everything ended."

"All my dreams were shattered," she continued. "Everything in the house is gone, the house in which we planned to have a sweet and happy life is gone."

"I dreamed of beautiful things, for example, children," said her fiancé, Saif Abu Taima. "I used to say, 'Boy,' and she used to say, 'No, girl.' And we also used to go out and [I'd] tell her, 'We will live a beautiful life and achieve our beautiful dream.'"

She added, "We desperately want to live in safety like other countries. To have a good life, to live freely and in peace."

-ABC News' Sami Zayara

Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the United Nations at Geneva, is calling for an "irreversible" move toward a two-state solution.

"We must be united in demanding an end to the occupation and the blockade of Gaza," Valovaya said. "It is long past time to move in a determined, irreversible way towards a two-state solution, on the basis of United Nations resolutions and international law, with Israel and Palestine living side-by-side in peace and security, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states."