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

The offer from Hamas came as Israel continued to pound the Gaza Strip, where rescuers said 16 people were killed Monday.

In the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged since the Gaza war broke out, Israeli officials said three Israeli citizens were killed when gunmen opened fire on a bus and other vehicles.

Mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the United States have been working for months to strike a deal to end the fighting in Gaza, but both warring sides have accused the other of derailing the negotiations.

Indirect talks that resumed last month continued over the weekend. A senior Hamas official said late 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 assertion on Monday.

"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........

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