Israel has said that Hamas has yet to clarify whether 34 hostages it claimed it was ready to free were dead or alive, throwing doubt on the group’s assertion that it needed time to ascertain their fate, AFP reports.

The offer from Hamas came as Israel continued to pound the Gaza Strip, where rescuers said 13 people were killed today.

In recent days, mediators have resumed indirect talks, and a senior Hamas official said late on Sunday that the group was prepared to release an initial batch of captives but would need “a week of calm” to determine whether they were still alive.

Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, however, rejected that claim today.

“They know precisely who is alive and who is dead. They know precisely where the hostages are,” Mencer told journalists in an online briefing.

“Gaza is a very small place. Hamas know exactly where they are.”

The Hamas official, requesting anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations, had also said the group came from a list presented by Israel and would include all the women, children, elderly and sick captives still held in Gaza.

“Hamas has agreed to release the 34 prisoners, whether alive or dead,” the official told AFP, but the group needed time “to communicate with the captors and identify those who are alive and those who are dead”.