A senior Hamas official has shared with the BBC a list of 34 hostages that the Palestinian group says it is willing to release in the first stage of a potential ceasefire agreement with Israel. It is unclear how many hostages remain alive.

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 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.