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.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting.

Israeli troops pull back but maintain a watchful eye on the tens of thousands of Gazans who had been displaced during the 15 months of fighting.