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.

Hamas has approved a list of 34 Israeli hostages to be exchanged in a possible ceasefire deal, Reuters reported, citing a Hamas official. The Israeli government denied receiving a list of hostages from Hamas, adding that the names published in the media are from an older list that Israel had presented to mediators.

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.

Negotiators have made little progress towards an enduring ceasefire over a year into deadly conflict and humanitarian crisis, while another 102 Palestinians were reported killed in Israeli airstrikes

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.