Israel says Hamas has not provided any information about the status of those 34 hostages, dampening any notion that the endorsement is a step toward a deal to stop the war.

Israel said Monday that Hamas had not yet provided the status of 34 hostages the group declared it was ready to release in the first phase of a potential exchange deal.Late on Sunday, a senior Hamas official told AFP the group had "agreed to release 34 Israeli prisoners from a list presented by Israel as part of the first phase of a prisoner exchange deal".

A British woman is on a Hamas list of hostages approved for release, which has been widely criticised by families in Israel, The Telegraph has learnt.

The deal would secure release of a third of the approximately 100 hostages who remain in Gaza, including two dual U.S.-Israeli nationals. In return, Israel would release some Palestinian prisoners.

President-elect Donald Trump held a news conference where he said "all hell will break out" in the Middle East if the hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, from Israel are not returned by Inauguration Day.

Israel government spokesperson David Mencer has called out Hamas for “murdering” a hostage after the body of a 53-year-old man was found inside a tunnel in Rafah.

The Israeli army says it has recovered another body of a hostage in the Gaza Strip. An Arab Israeli, aged 53, has been brought out, according to a military spokesman. Finds connected to his son, who had also been kidnapped,

After a 64-day operation in Gaza, Israel's Kfir Brigade has withdrawn, having eliminated over 300 Hamas fighters, including top commanders, and destroyed critical Hamas infrastructure, such as rocket launchers and tunnels.