The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office on Monday clarified that a list of hostages foreign media claimed would be freed as part of a potential ceasefire deal with Hamas was transferred by Jerusalem to the Palestinian terror group as early as July 2024.

“To date, Israel has not received any confirmation or comment from Hamas regarding the status of the abductees on the list. Israel will continue to work tirelessly to return all of our captives,” the PMO said.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported earlier Monday that Jerusalem had in fact submitted the list, but that Hamas was refusing or unable to confirm whether the designated captives are alive.

Earlier, the Saudi daily al-Sharq published what it claimed are the names of the hostages on the list.

An anonymous Hamas official told the outlet that it would take about a week to determine the condition of each captive, a process the terror group is reportedly insisting it will undertake only after a ceasefire is in effect.

The BBC also reported on Monday that such a list exists, and includes 10 women, two children and at least 10 men aged 50 and up.

“The families of the hostages are shaken and upset by the list published this morning,” according to a statement by Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “We call on the media and the public to show sensitivity and responsibility regarding the publication of this and other such things until a deal is signed, and also during it.

“The time is ripe for a comprehensive agreement that will return all the hostages—the living for healing, and the murdered and fallen for a proper burial. We are leaving no one behind!” added the statement.

Mossad chief David Barnea was scheduled to arrive in Doha on Monday for continued ceasefire negotiations, foreign sources involved in the talks told Israel’s Kan News public broadcaster on Sunday night.

U.S. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk and other top American officials were expected to join as well, according to Ynet.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned senior ministers for an “urgent security discussion” on Sunday, according to media reports.

The discussion included Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and came amid reported progress in the ceasefire negotiations.

Ben-Gvir and Smotrich oppose the proposals being reported in recent weeks, and Netanyahu has emphasized that Israeli forces will return to fighting after any ceasefire deal until Jerusalem’s war goals are achieved.

According to Israeli estimates, there are 100 hostages still in Hamas captivity in Gaza, including 96 abducted during the terror group’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 251 people were taken.

Of those, 155 have been returned or rescued, and Hamas is believed to be holding 36 bodies, 34 of them taken on Oct. 7 and the remaining two being IDF soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, who were kidnapped in 2014.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed optimism on Monday about the likelihood of a ceasefire agreement, though it might not materialize until after President Joe Biden’s term ends on Jan. 20.

Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Blinken stated, “If we don’t finalize it within the next two weeks, I’m confident it will be completed eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later. When it does, it will be based on the plan President Biden proposed.”

President-elect Donald Trump on Dec. 31 reiterated his call for the Israelis in Gaza to be released before he takes office.

An interlocutor asked Trump about the captives, at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida, noting that Trump had warned “there will be hell to pay” unless they are freed by the time he is sworn in.

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump replied. “They better let the hostages come back soon.”

Image - Israelis protest outside the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding the release of the hostages held in the Gaza Strip, Aug. 13, 2024. Photo by Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90