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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel kept thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes successful the bluish Gaza Strip connected Sunday arsenic it accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the bid of hostages it has released. Local wellness officials said Israeli forces fired connected the crowds, sidesplitting 2 radical and wounding nine.
The standoff successful Gaza came a time aft U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that astir of Gaza's colonisation should beryllium astatine slightest temporarily resettled elsewhere, including successful Egypt and Jordan, successful bid to “just cleanable out” the war-ravaged enclave.
Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians themselves person antecedently rejected specified a scenario, fearing Israel mightiness ne'er let the refugees to return.
Bassem Naim, a elder Hamas official, said Palestinians would ne'er judge specified a proposal, “even if seemingly well-intentioned nether the guise of reconstruction.” He said the Palestinians tin rebuild Gaza “even amended than before” if Israel lifts its blockade.
Under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel connected Saturday was to statesman allowing Palestinians to instrumentality to their homes successful bluish Gaza connected ft done the alleged Netzarim corridor bisecting Gaza. Israel enactment the determination connected clasp until Hamas frees a hostage who Israel said was expected to person been released Saturday. Hamas successful crook accused Israel of violating the agreement.
Crowds of radical traveling by ft and carrying their belongings filled a main roadworthy starring to a closed Israeli checkpoint. “We person been successful agony for a twelvemonth and a half,” Nadia Qasem, a pistillate displaced from the northbound said arsenic she waited. “Since 1 a.m. we person been waiting to return.”
Fadi al-Sinwar, who was besides displaced from Gaza City, said, “the destiny of much than a cardinal radical is linked to 1 person,” referring to the Israeli hostage.
“See however invaluable we are? We are worthless," helium said.
Dispute and shootings trial fragile ceasefire
Israeli forces fired connected the crowds connected 3 occasions overnight and into Sunday, sidesplitting 2 radical and wounding nine, including a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.
There was nary contiguous remark from the Israeli military.
Israel has pulled backmost from respective areas of Gaza arsenic portion of the ceasefire, which came into unit past Sunday, but the subject has warned radical to enactment distant from its forces, which are inactive operating successful a buffer portion wrong Gaza on the borderline and successful the Netzarim corridor.
Hamas freed 4 young pistillate Israeli soldiers connected Saturday, and Israel released immoderate 200 Palestinian prisoners, astir of whom were serving beingness sentences aft being convicted of deadly attacks.
But Israel said different hostage, the pistillate civilian Arbel Yehoud, was expected to person been released up of the soldiers, and that it would not unfastened the Netzarim corridor until she was freed. It besides accused Hamas of failing to supply details connected the conditions of hostages acceptable to beryllium freed successful the coming weeks.
Hamas accused Israel of utilizing the contented arsenic a pretext to hold the instrumentality of Palestinians to their homes. In a statement, the militant radical said it had informed mediators that Yehoud was live and provided guarantees that she would beryllium released.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar, which mediated the ceasefire, were moving to code the dispute.
Ending the warfare volition beryllium difficult
The ceasefire reached earlier this period aft much than a twelvemonth of negotiations is aimed astatine ending the 15-month warfare triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught and freeing scores of hostages inactive held successful Gaza successful instrumentality for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Around 90 hostages are inactive being held successful Gaza, and Israeli authorities judge astatine slightest a third, and up to fractional of them, were killed successful the archetypal onslaught oregon died successful captivity.
The archetypal signifier of the ceasefire runs until aboriginal March and includes the merchandise of a full of 33 hostages and astir 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. The 2nd — and acold much hard — phase, has yet to beryllium negotiated. Hamas has said it volition not merchandise the remaining hostages without an extremity to the war, portion Israel has threatened to resume its violative until Hamas is destroyed.
Hamas-led militants killed immoderate 1,200 radical successful the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and abducted astir 250 people. More than 100 were freed during a weeklong ceasefire successful November 2023. Israeli forces person rescued 8 surviving hostages and recovered the remains of dozens more, astatine slightest 3 of whom were mistakenly killed by Israeli forces. Seven person been freed since the latest ceasefire began.
Israel's subject run has killed implicit 47,000 Palestinians, much than fractional of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It does not accidental however galore of the dormant were combatants. The Israeli subject says it has killed implicit 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.
Israeli bombardment and crushed operations person flattened wide swaths of Gaza and displaced astir 90% of its colonisation of 2.3 cardinal people. Many who person returned to their homes since the ceasefire began person recovered lone mounds of rubble wherever their neighborhoods erstwhile stood.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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Follow AP’s warfare sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
