Disadvantaged Palestinians wait because of a dispute between Israel and Hamas

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are wondering when Israel will allow them to return to their homes unless Ms. Yehud is released

Displaced Palestinians in southern and central Gaza were left wondering on Saturday when Israel would permit them to return to their homes in the northern part of the territory, as Israel and Hamas sparred over the implementation of the cease-fire deal.

The Israeli prime minister’s office said Israel would prevent movement to the north of Gaza until plans were set for the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian women in captivity in Gaza.

It was unclear what exactly would need to take place for Israel to consider Ms. Yehud’s release arranged, but Hamas has confirmed which hostages will be freed to Israel in the past by sending lists to Israel through mediators.

Hamas accused Israel of hesitating to implement the cease-fire agreement. Since the cease- fire took effect a week ago, the dispute was one of the most significant between the parties.

The Palestinians were left in a state of anxious waiting, as they were already packing their belongings, which included kitchen supplies, clothing and mattress pads.

Avichai Adraee, the Arabic spokesman of the Israeli military, posted on social media on Saturday that it was still forbidden to approach the corridor linking central Gaza to the north, without clarifying when that would change.

“Everyone is worried and cautious,” said Ibrahim Abdulwahed, 40, a displaced man in the central city of Deir al-Balah. He thought that the issue would be solved by Israel and Hamas.

Some people said their excitement about returning to their homes was mixed with fear that they would be hit hard by Israeli bombardment.

“My husband and I have been waiting for this day with so much anticipation, but I can’t help feeling frightened about the great destruction I’ll see on the way back,” said Nour Qasim, 22, a displaced person in Nuseirat, in central Gaza.

The First Day of the Oct. 7, 2023, Israeli-Israel Battle of the Red Cross: Four Female Field Observers and Seven Hostages

TEL AVIV, Israel — Four female soldiers taken hostage in the Oct. 7, 2023 incursion into southern Israel by fighters belonging to the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza have won back their freedom.

Liri Albag, 19; Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20 and Naama Levy, 20, were handed over to representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza on Saturday morning, and then transferred to an Israeli convoy to be driven across the border into Israel, the Israeli military said.

The Red Cross was handed over in Gaza City on Palestine Square in a military style ceremony. Some of the armed fighters were wearing black balaclavas, while others wore signature green headbands. Spectators waved Palestine and Hamas flags as they clambered on the rubble of wrecked vehicles.

The Hamas-organized event was in sharp contrast to the first handover of hostages last Sunday, when three Israeli civilian women were released amidst an unruly crowd.

The four young women, who were in their pajamas when they were taken captive 476 days ago, were paraded in soldiers’ uniforms onto a stage at the head of the square in Gaza City. Behind them banners with slogans condemned Israel.

Two hostages held eachother’s hands during a brief appearance. Some smiled and waved, raising their arms and giving a thumbs up in front of the crowd. The proceeding was broadcast live, including on Israeli television.

Hamas has said it will not release the remaining hostages unless an end to the war is guaranteed, but Israeli leaders have repeatedly said they intend to continue with the conflict until Hamas is extinguished as a fighting force in Gaza.

The four women released on Saturday were serving as field observers in Unit 414 of the Field Intelligence Battalion when Hamas militants stormed their base on the border with Gaza and set it on fire.

According to the Israeli military, 66 soldiers were killed and seven female soldiers were taken hostage from the base, located on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Agam Berger, 20 is still in the hands of Hamas, and the third who wasn’t part of Saturday’s handover is a soldier. Noa Marciano, 19, whose body was recovered by Israeli troops in Gaza in November 2023, and Ori Megidish, who was rescued in an military operation in October of that year.

Their fate has raised questions in Israel about the military’s failure to prevent the Hamas attack. Members of the female observer team had warned repeatedly that Hamas fighters appeared to be engaging in maneuvers suggesting that an attempt to infiltrate into Israel was imminent, but the warnings were not taken seriously by male commanders.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman of the Israeli military, said Hamas proved its “cruelty” during Saturday’s handover, which he described as a “cynical ceremony.”

The hostages, all soldiers who were lookouts at a base on the Gaza border and abducted from there on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack on Israel, arrived to the square in a convoy of midsize sport utility vehicles. They were led onto the stage, clothed in military-style fatigues, which seemed intended to make a point that these hostages were soldiers, not civilians.

The handover of four hostages on Saturday was an even more performative stunt than the one last Sunday, when three other female hostages were released.

Gaza City: The attack on Yehud in 2023 and the Israeli-Lebanese commitment to peace in the early 2023 conflict

Hamas staged a stage in the center of Gaza City to highlight the area that has been ravaged by Israel. The stage held a banner bearing a message in Hebrew: “Zionism will not win.” There were many masked, uniformed fighters and civilians nearby.

A small number of those killed during Israeli military operations have been recovered, as Israeli troops have rescued eight hostages alive.

The first six-week phase of the deal was brokered by the US,Qatar and Egypt, and is meant to see almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners swapped for 33 Israeli hostages.

Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack. More than half of the Palestinians killed by Israel have been women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

A senior military official in Hamas, who issues statements under a nom du guerre, Abu Ahmed, said the mediators — the U.S., Qatar and Egypt — had been given guarantees that Yehud was “alive and in good health.”

President Trump separately provoked strong reaction across the Middle East when he suggested that a large proportion of Gaza’s residents could be moved to Egypt and Jordan at least temporarily.

Egypt has previously pushed back on such a suggestion, and both the Jordanian government, the Palestinian Authority and militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected the suggestion, as did Arab-Israeli lawmakers.

The Lebanese Army said its own inability to move troops into those positions was only because Israeli troops had not yet left the area, and that Israeli troops had killed at least one Lebanese army soldier.

Israeli forces were supposed to have left Lebanon Sunday under the terms of a separate peace agreement with Hezbollah.