The militant group Hamas says it will free three Israeli hostages as planned this weekend. That's a reversal of its previous announcement and it raises the prospect of resolving a major dispute over the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Days of the Israel-Hamas War, by the Numbers Monday is the 500th day of the war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel. A tenuous ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has held for nearly a month.

The start of the war in the Gaza Strip marks 500 days on Monday with a fragile ceasefire as a backdrop, palpable throughout the day: the army opened fire on vehicles in the enclave (despite the truce) and the families of the captives in the Strip demand their return to the government,