JERUSALEM — Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire are dead. Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists Monday that Hamas said the other 25 are alive. Israel overnight said it had received a list of information on the status of the hostages from Hamas.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has handed over to mediators a list showing that 25 Israeli hostages are still alive, out of 33 scheduled for release, an official of the group told Reuters on Monday.

With a new administration in Washington and a renewed focus on the West Bank, it is in Israel’s interests to maintain the ceasefire in Lebanon. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire in late November 2024 to end more than a year of fighting.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said Monday that Israel should withdraw from the occupied border areas in southern Lebanon, rejecting the extension of the cease-fire arrangements to Feb. 18.

To truly understand this angst, one must understand Jewish history and one of the main reasons for Israel’s establishment as a modern nation-state.