Some troops had been expected to withdraw to allow hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to go home. But Israel said the hostage exchange before that step had not gone as agreed. Hamas accused Israel of stalling.

Four female Israeli soldiers who were taken hostage by Hamas in the terrorist attack on October 7 have been released.

Hamas put together a spectacle in Gaza designed to humiliate Israel and also to create an image of Hamas as a military organization conducting a military handover of prisoners of war.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians waited to return to their homes in northern Gaza, voicing frustration after Israel refused to open crossing points.

Israel kept thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday as it accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released. Local health officials said Israeli forces fired on the crowd,

An agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas that involves the release of additional hostages and the return of Palestinians to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.