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

Palestinian resistance group Hamas accused Israel on Sunday of violating a ceasefire agreement by blocking the return of displaced civilians to northern Gaza. "The Israeli occupation is delaying the implementation of the terms of the agreement,” Hamas said in a statement.

More than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in the 7 October attack, according to Israel, with 94 still in Gaza