It is believed that at least two of the six American hostages still held in Gaza are alive — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, who grew up in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and Edan Alexander, 19, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Four other Americans are believed to have been killed in captivity.

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.

Israel was expected to free about 90 more Palestinians from its prisons on Saturday in exchange for the release of the three hostages, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19.