Eight of the remaining hostages set to be released by Hamas in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead, according to an Israeli government spokesperson.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has handed over to mediators a list showing that 25 Israeli hostages are still alive, out of 33 scheduled for release, an official of the group told Reuters on Monday.

Eight of the 26 hostages still to be released from Gaza during the first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire are dead, The Telegraph has learned.

Hamas will release more Israeli hostages this week, officials said Monday, including Agam Berger, who was not released along with four of her colleagues on Saturday.

Two hundred Palestinian prisoners have also been released today by Israel in the latest stage of a ceasefire deal.

The hostages are the second set to be released since the multiphase agreement came into effect, raising hopes for a lasting end to the war.

The handover of four female Israeli soldiers by Hamas on Saturday came as Israel released 200 prisoners. But a dispute arose over the hostage release timetable.

Hamas has told Israel that eight of 26 Israeli hostages set to be released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire are dead, according to a Middle Eastern official briefed on the matter. New York Giants owner John Mara told GM Joe Schoen how he felt if Saquon Barkley signed in Philadelphia.

The Islamist group Hamas said Monday that eight of 33 hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead. Twenty-five of them are still alive,

The hostages and 200 prisoners were released in the second swap of the Gaza cease-fire deal, which went into effect this month.