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.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: November 26, 2023, 4:32 PM EST

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.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Mar 1, 2024, 6:03 am

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.

Nov 21, 2023, 12:23 PM EST

Israel hopes 50 hostages will be released within 4 days: Senior official

Israel hopes to secure the release of at least 50 hostages within four days, according to a senior Israeli official with knowledge of the negotiations.

The official told ABC News on Tuesday that all Israeli security forces and agencies are in favor of the proposed deal with Hamas, which was brokered by Qatar.

For two weeks, Israel was against accepting Qatar's original offer, the official said. Among other things, the government did not want to allow people to return to northern Gaza during the cease-fire period, the official said. Israel also wanted to limit the entry of fuel into Gaza to only the days of the cease-fire, according to the official.

Dani Gilbert, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University, joins ABC News Live anchor Stephanie Ramos to discuss the latest on hostage negotiations in Israel.
3:29
Israel faces ‘unprecedented’ hostage crisis ahead of vote on potential deal Dani Gilbert, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University, joins ABC News Live anchor Stephanie Ramos to discuss the latest on hostage negotiations in Israel.
ABCNews.com

-ABC News' Jordana Miller

Nov 21, 2023, 12:09 PM EST

Hostage deal would involve pause in fighting lasting 4 or 5 days: US official

A U.S. official told ABC News the hostage deal would involve Hamas releasing 50 women and children in exchange for a pause in fighting that would last four or five days. The deal would also involve the release of three Palestinian prisoners for each Israeli hostage, the official said.

The Palestinian prisoners are not considered hostages. Some of them were imprisoned prior to the conflict.

PHOTO: Relatives and friends of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, hold placards and images of those taken during a protest for their release in the central city of Modiin, Nov. 16, 2023.
Relatives, friends and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel, hold placards and images of those taken during a protest for their release in the central city of Modiin, Nov. 16, 2023.
Menahem Kahana AFP via Getty Images

The official cautioned that the deal is not done. President Joe Biden has been personally involved in the negotiations, urging the emir of Qatar to press Hamas to accept the deal and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the deal, according to the official.

-ABC News' Selina Wang

Nov 21, 2023, 11:24 AM EST

'We're now very close' on hostage deal, Biden says

President Joe Biden said Tuesday that "we're now very close" on a deal to release the hostages being held by Hamas, but the president did not discuss more details.

"We could bring some of the hostages home very soon, but I don't want to get into the details of things because nothing is done until it's done. And when we have more to say we will, but things are looking good," Biden said.

ABC News’ Matt Gutman reports on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.
1:20
US official: Hostage deal with Hamas could be reached ‘at any point’ABC News’ Matt Gutman reports on the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war.
ABCNews.com

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

Nov 21, 2023, 10:57 AM EST

WHO says it's planning to evacuate 3 hospitals in Gaza

The World Health Organization said Tuesday that at least three hospitals in the war-torn Gaza Strip have requested help with evacuating patients.

Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said planning was underway to evacuate Al-Shifa Hospital, Indonesian Hospital and Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza, but that such an event was a last resort.

"It's robbing the entire population of the north of the means to seek health [care]," Lindmeier told reporters.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky and Morgan Winsor

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