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.

Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead.

The fragility of the truce between Israel and Hamas was laid bare on Saturday, after Israel accused Hamas of withholding a hostage, prompting a halt in the movement of Gazan civilians back to their homes in the north.

Israeli hostages Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev and Daniella Gilboa were freed by Hamas on Saturday, while 200 Palestinian prisoners were released, Israel said.

Four Israeli women soldiers who were kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct. 7 terror attack and held in Gaza were released on Saturday morning local time. Why it matters: This was the second set of hostages released since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire came into effect a week ago.

Four Israeli female soldiers held captive by Hamas for 477 days were released Saturday under the ongoing ceasefire agreement. Karina Ariev, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Albag were paraded in Gaza City’s central square before being handed over to the Red Cross and eventually reunited with their families in Israel.