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 yet to clarify whether 34 hostages it said it was ready to free were dead or alive, throwing doubt on the group's assertion that it needed time to ascertain their fate.

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.

Hamas has named 34 hostages, some of them believed to have died in captivity, who it says it would return to Israel in the first phase of an evolving if still elusive ceasefire in Gaza.

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.

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

Palestinian militant group Hamas has approved a list of 34 hostages presented by Israel to be exchanged in a possible ceasefire deal, a group official told Reuters on Sunday.

Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing at least 23 people according to rescuers, nearly 15 months into the war with Hamas Palestinian militants.Far from Gaza, Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah have traded accusations of violating a ceasefire that ended their war,

A renewed push is underway to reach a ceasefire in the 15-month war and return Israeli hostages before Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.