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.

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".

Liri Albag, 19, is one of about 100 hostages believed to remain held in the enclave nearly 15 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel.

The family of a hostage who appears in the latest video released by Hamas has called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seize the opportunity to do a ceasefire deal, describing the footage as having “torn our hearts to pieces.