Crowds of displaced Palestinians gather near vehicles and other belongings along a road in northern Gaza City on Jan. 26, 2025.

Early Monday, Qatar announced a deal to release an Israeli civilian hostage and facilitate the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, easing the initial crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Qatari statement, from a mediator in the ceasefire talks, indicated Hamas would release civilian hostage Arbel Yehoud, along with two other hostages, before Friday. Palestinian access to northern Gaza would resume under Israeli authorization on Monday.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed in a statement that the hostage release—including soldier Agam Berger—would occur Thursday, and that Palestinians could return to northern Gaza starting Monday. The Israeli military specified a 7 a.m. start time for pedestrian crossings.

The ceasefire agreement stipulated Palestinian return to northern Gaza on Saturday; however, Israel suspended this due to Yehoud’s delayed release, a point of contention leading to Hamas accusations of an agreement breach by Israel.

The release of Yehoud and two others supplements the release of three hostages scheduled for next Saturday.

Further, Hamas stated it had provided a list detailing information on all hostages slated for release in the ceasefire’s initial six-week phase. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed receipt of this list.

Thousands of Palestinians gathered, awaiting northward movement through the Netzarim corridor, while local health officials reported Israeli forces fired on the crowd Sunday, resulting in two deaths and nine injuries.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested at least temporary resettlement of most of Gaza’s population, including in Egypt and Jordan, to “clean out” the war-torn enclave. Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians rejected this proposal, fearing a potential permanent prevention of refugee repatriation by Israel.

Senior Hamas official Bassem Naim stated that Palestinians would reject such a proposal, even if well-intentioned for reconstruction. He asserted that Palestinians could rebuild Gaza “even better than before” if Israel lifted its blockade.

Dispute and shootings test fragile ceasefire

Israeli forces fired upon the waiting crowds on three separate occasions overnight and into Sunday, killing two and injuring nine, including a child, according to Al-Awda Hospital.

The Israeli military stated it fired warning shots at “several gatherings of dozens of suspects who were advancing toward the troops and posed a threat to them.”

Israel has withdrawn from several Gaza areas under the ceasefire, implemented last Sunday. The military cautioned against approaching its forces, which remain active in a Gaza border buffer zone and the Netzarim corridor.

Hamas released four female Israeli soldiers Saturday; Israel released approximately 200 Palestinian prisoners, many serving life sentences for deadly attacks. However, Israel insisted Yehoud’s release should have preceded the soldiers’ release.

Hamas confirmed Yehoud’s safety and assured mediators—the United States, Egypt, and Qatar—of her release.

Frustration mounted among Palestinians waiting to move north, some huddling around bonfires for warmth.

“We have been in agony for a year and a half,” said Nadia Qasem.

Fadi al-Sinwar, also displaced from Gaza City, remarked that “the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person,” referring to Yehoud.

“See how valuable we are? We are worthless,” he said.

Ending the war will be difficult

The ceasefire aims to end the 15-month war initiated by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, securing the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Approximately 90 hostages remain in Gaza; Israeli authorities believe at least a third, possibly half, are deceased.

Itzik Horn, father of hostages Iair and Eitan Horn, described any renewed fighting as “a death sentence for the hostages” and criticized government ministers advocating for continued war.

The ceasefire’s first phase, concluding in early March, involves the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Negotiations for the second, significantly more challenging, phase are pending. Hamas has conditioned the release of remaining hostages on an end to hostilities, while Israel has threatened to resume its offensive until Hamas’s destruction.

Hamas-led militants killed approximately 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 attack, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. More than 100 were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Israeli forces rescued eight living hostages and recovered the remains of dozens more, at least three mistakenly killed by Israeli forces. Seven have been released under the current ceasefire.

Israel’s military campaign has claimed over 47,000 Palestinian lives, over half women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Combatant numbers are unspecified. The Israeli military claims over 17,000 fighters were killed, without providing supporting evidence.

Israeli bombardment and ground operations have devastated large sections of Gaza, displacing approximately 90% of its 2.3 million population. Many returning home since the ceasefire have found only rubble.

—Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed.