Hamas calling for week of ceasefire to release 34 hostages

A Hamas official said the initial swap of the 34 hostages would include all the women, children, elderly people and sick captives still held in Gaza, adding they needed a “week of calm” to determine their condition, AFP reports.

“Hamas has agreed to release the 34 prisoners, whether alive or dead,” the official said. “However, the group needs a week of calm to communicate with the captors and identify those who are alive and those who are dead.”