Hamas has been unable to deliver 40 hostages for the first phase of a prisoner swap deal with Israel, Israeli reports cited sources involved in the negotiations, raising concerns that more hostages are dying in captivity than thought need more.

Israel said that more than six months into the war, 133 hostages are still being held in Gaza. Dozens of people thought to be dead.

A broad framework for a deal presented by negotiators – talks are still ongoing – would include exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners in three stages and a truce in Gaza to allow more aid to flow into the besieged enclave.

The first phase will see the release of 40 hostages held by Hamas, including women, men over 50 years old and prisoners in poor health. All the children except the youngest, Kfir Bibas, 1, and his brother Ariel, 4, were released in a deal last year. Hamas claimed they were killed in Israeli airstrikes but provided no evidence.

But Israel’s Channel 12 late on Monday quoted the mediator as saying that Hamas “does not have the capacity to release 40 abductees as part of a humanitarian deal and insists on a different number – less than [the number sought] Israel”.

Israel’s Walla news network reported the same, citing Israeli officials. “In several rounds of negotiations over the past few weeks, Hamas claimed that there were not 40 living abductees in this category,” the report said, adding that Israel had asked to add “single digits” of abductees of fighting age. By. The men filled the gap to 40 men.

Israel has not released details on the categories of hostages held by Hamas. But at least 14 women and 18 men aged over 50 are believed to be alive in the gang, according to police. Tracker operated by Israeli newspapers haaretz.About a third of the prisoners suffering from health problemsaccording to the Hostage and Missing Persons Families Forum.

A spokesman for the organization representing relatives of the captives dismissed the reports as “nonsense without any evidence” but added that “they do not have time and must be released as soon as possible”. A rally was held outside the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, calling for a deal to free more hostages.

Gershon Baskin, a veteran Israeli negotiator who worked on the Hamas deal to free the hostages, said the death toll could be higher than previously acknowledged.

“We don’t know what the condition of the hostages is,” he told I. “We heard horror stories from those who returned. There were sick and elderly people among the hostages. Those who needed medication to survive. Their chances of survival must have been low. We thought the tunnels were damp and cold with low oxygen levels.

“Beyond that, the hostages being held in their homes could be under the rubble of Israeli bombings.”

Hamas previously claimed it did not know where all the hostages were in Gaza because some were held by other armed groups.

Israel’s cabinet will meet on Tuesday night to discuss a potential deal with Hamas, with the United States said to be pushing for a deal.

Negotiations have previously stalled over several issues, including Hamas’s demand for a permanent ceasefire while Israel offers only a temporary truce, whether residents of northern Gaza can return to their homes, and the number and identities of Palestinian prisoners to be released.