Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has posted an audio recording on its Telegram channel saying the group was ready to release as many as 70 women and children hostages in return for a five-day ceasefire, an offer Israel is unlikely to embrace, Reuters reports.

“We told the (Qatari) mediators that in a five-day truce, we can release 50 of them and the number could reach 70 due to the difficulty that the captives are held by different factions,” said al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Ubaida said, saying Israel had asked for 100 to be freed.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Washington would “like to see considerably longer pauses — days, not hours — in the context of a hostage release”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, another US official said the release of dozens of hostages could lead to a several-day pause but said negotiations were extremely delicate.