Israel blocks thousands of Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza over ceasefire dispute
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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, killing two people and wounding nine.
Israeli forces also opened fire in Lebanon on protesters demanding their withdrawal by Sunday's deadline in line with a separate ceasefire agreement with the Hezbollah militant group, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 80. Israel refused to withdraw by the deadline, accusing Lebanese forces of not deploying quickly enough. Lebanon's army says it cannot move into areas until Israeli troops leave.
U.S. President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gaza's population should be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, to “just clean out” the war-ravaged enclave. Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians have previously rejected such a scenario, fearing Israel might never allow refugees to return.
Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal, “even if seemingly well-intentioned under the guise of reconstruction.” He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza “even better than before” if Israel lifts its blockade.
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Under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza on foot through the Netzarim corridor bisecting Gaza. Israel put that on hold until Hamas frees a civilian hostage who Israel said should have been released Saturday. Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement.
Crowds of people carrying their belongings filled a main road leading to a closed Israeli checkpoint. “We have been in agony for a year and a half,” said Nadia Qasem.
Fadi al-Sinwar, also displaced from Gaza City, said “the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person,” referring to the Israeli hostage, Arbel Yehoud.
“See how valuable we are? We are worthless," he said.
Dispute and shootings test fragile ceasefire
Israeli forces fired on the crowds on three occasions overnight and into Sunday, killing two people and wounding nine, including a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
There was no immediate comment from Israel's military, which on Saturday said it had fired warning shots in the area. Local medical officials said a Palestinian man was shot and killed.
Israel has pulled back from several areas of Gaza as part of the ceasefire, which came into effect last Sunday, but the military has warned people to stay away from its forces, which still operate in a buffer zone inside Gaza along the border and in the Netzarim corridor.
Hamas freed four female Israeli soldiers on Saturday, and Israel released some 200 Palestinian prisoners, most of whom were serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks.
But Israel said Yehoud should have been released ahead of the soldiers, and that it would not open the Netzarim corridor until she was freed. It also accused Hamas of failing to provide details on the conditions of hostages set to be freed in the remaining five weeks of the ceasefire's first phase.
Hamas accused Israel of using the issue as a pretext to delay Palestinians' return to their homes. In a statement, the militant group said it had told mediators that Yehoud was alive and provided guarantees that she would be released.
A spokesman for Gaza’s second-largest militant group, Islamic Jihad, later said the dispute over Yehoud had been settled. Mohamed al-Hajj Mousa said the group told mediators she will be released before Saturday. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Mediators the United States, Egypt and Qatar were working to address the dispute.
Ending the war will be difficult
The ceasefire is aimed at ending the 15-month war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack and freeing hostages still held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Around 90 hostages are still in Gaza, and Israeli authorities believe at least a third, and up to half, have died.
Itzik Horn, the father of hostages Iair and Eitan Horn, called any resumption of fighting “a death sentence for the hostages” and criticized government ministers who want the war to go on.
The ceasefire's first phase runs until early March and includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The second — and far more difficult — phase, has yet to be negotiated. Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages without an end to the war, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas is destroyed.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. More than 100 were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Israeli forces have rescued eight living hostages and recovered the remains of dozens more, at least three of them mistakenly killed by Israeli forces. Seven have been freed in the latest ceasefire.
Israel's military campaign has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have flattened wide swaths of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population of 2.3 million people. Many who have returned home since the ceasefire began have found only mounds of rubble.
