Israel blocks thousands from returning home to northern Gaza over ceasefire disp

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 nineIsraeli forces also opened fire in Lebanon on protesters demanding their withdrawal by Sundays deadline under a separate ceasefire with the Hezbollah militant group Health officials in Lebanon said at least 22 people were killed and over 120 wounded Israel says it hasnt withdrawn because Lebanese forces are not deploying quickly enough while Lebanon says its forces cannot move into areas until Israeli troops leaveUS President Donald Trump meanwhile suggested that most of Gazas population be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere including in Egypt and Jordan to just clean out the warravaged enclave Jordan and the Palestinians swiftly rejected that and Egypt has previously rejected the scenario fearing Israel might never allow refugees to returnSenior Hamas official Bassem Naim said Palestinians would never accept such a proposal even if seemingly wellintentioned under the guise of reconstruction He said the Palestinians can rebuild Gaza even better than before if Israel lifts its blockadeUnder the IsraelHamas ceasefire Israel on Saturday was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza through the Netzarim corridor bisecting the territory Israel put that on hold until Hamas frees a civilian hostage who Israel said should have been released Saturday Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreementCrowds 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 alSinwar 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 saidDispute and shootings test fragile ceasefireIsraeli forces fired on the crowds on three occasions overnight and into Sunday killing two people and wounding nine including a child according to AlAwda Hospital which received the casualties Israels military in a statement said it fired warning shots at several gatherings of dozens of suspects who were advancing toward the troops and posed a threat to themIsrael has pulled back from several areas of Gaza under the ceasefire which came into effect last Sunday 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 soldiersIsrael also accused Hamas of failing to provide details on the conditions of hostages set to be freed in the remaining five weeks of the ceasefires first phaseIn a statement Hamas said it had told mediators the United States Egypt and Qatar that Yehoud was alive and provided guarantees that she would be releasedA spokesman for Gazas secondlargest militant group Islamic Jihad later said the dispute over Yehoud had been settled Mohamed alHajj Mousa said the group told mediators she will be released before Saturday But an Israeli official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the behindthescenes talks said there was still no dealEnding the war will be difficultThe ceasefire is aimed at ending the 15month 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 criticised government ministers who want the war to go onThe ceasefires first phase runs until early March and includes the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2000 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 destroyedHamasled militants killed some 1200 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 ceasefireIsraels military campaign has killed over 47000 Palestinians more than half of them women and children according to Gazas Health Ministry It does not say how many of the dead were combatants The Israeli military says it has killed over 17000 fighters without providing evidence Israeli bombardment and ground operations have flattened wide swaths of Gaza and displaced around 9037 of its population of 23 million people Many who have returned home since the ceasefire began have found only mounds of rubbleWith inputs from AP and PTI