Israel accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of hostages it has released, leading it to stop thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Israel said another hostage, civilian Arbel Yehoud, was supposed to have been released ahead of the four soldiers freed on Saturday.
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Separately, a senior Hamas official said Palestinians would never accept U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that most of Gaza’s population should be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan.
The war broke out after Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 people. Israel’s retaliatory military operation has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
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