Israel says eight of the remaining 26 hostages due to be released by Hamas during the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal are dead.
Government spokesman David Menser told reporters that Israel had received a list from the Palestinian armed group overnight that provided information on the status of the hostages.
“The list from Hamas matches the Israeli intelligence, so I can share with you that … eight were killed by Hamas,” he said, without naming them. “Families have been informed about the situation of their loved ones.
Seven women have already been released alive in exchange for more than 290 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons since the January 19 ceasefire began.
On Sunday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that Hamas had agreed to release civilian woman Arbel Yehud, female soldier Agam Berger and another hostage on Thursday.
Three additional hostages will be released by the group on Saturday, he said.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 47,310 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
Israel says 87 of the hostages remain in captivity, 34 of whom are believed to be dead. In addition, there are three Israelis who were kidnapped before the war, one of whom is dead.
One of the hostages Israel says should be released in the first phase is Or Levi, 34, who attended the Nova music festival with his wife Einav on October 7, 2023.
The couple, whose son Almog is now three, fled to a roadside bomb shelter after an attack by Hamas gunmen. Einav was killed in the shelter, while Orr was kidnapped and taken back to Gaza.
At the weekend in Tel Aviv's Hostage Square, Orr's brother, Michael, told the BBC that waiting to hear about the status of the other 26 hostages was like being immersed in “a reality that the devil himself invented and part of an evil reality show , which Hamas enjoys.”
He also said he had received no indication of when Orr would be released and would have what he described as “an end date to this nightmare”.
Michael also said he feared Hamas could still delay his brother's release.
“We can't just sit back and hope for the best. We have to move on. And until he's here, I won't believe it really happened.”
On Saturday, after the release of four female Israeli soldiers in the second ceasefire exchange, an Israeli army spokesman said it was “extremely concerned” for the welfare of three hostages – Shiri Bibas, 33, and her two young sons, Kfir, two , and Ariel, five.
Hamas claimed in November 2023 that they were killed in an Israeli airstrike. However, the Israeli military has not confirmed their deaths and the Israeli government insists they were among the 33 hostages handed over in the first phase.
Negotiations for the second phase – which should lead to the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the “restoration of sustainable calm” – are due to begin on February 4.
The third and final stage will involve the rebuilding of Gaza, which could take years, and the return of any remaining bodies of hostages.
The Forum of Hostages and Missing Families urges the Israeli government to complete all three phases and guarantee the return of every hostage.
“We are not whole without them all. Our nation needs them all at home, together. To the last hostage,” the message said.
Meanwhile, the deputy chief of the Israeli army's medical corps said some of the seven newly freed hostages had spent “the whole time in tunnels underground” in recent months.
“Some of them were alone the whole time they were there,” said Col. Dr. Avi Banov, according to Reuters. Those who said they were together were in better shape.
The hostages said their attitudes had improved in the days before their release, when they were allowed to shower, change their clothes and were given better food, he added.