Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas have returned to Israel after militants paraded them in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City.

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.

The Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 others hostage. More than 100 were freed in a weeklong truce the following month. Israel believes at least a third of the over 90 captives still in Gaza are dead.