Hamas: Eight hostages to be released from Gaza are dead

The Islamist group Hamas has said that eight of 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead. Twenty-five of them are still alive, a member of the Palestinian militant group told dpa. An Israeli government spokesman said that a list provided by Hamas with these figures was consistent with Israeli intelligence. The six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which brought a halt to the fighting after over 15 months of war, envisages the gradual rele