Israel's defense minister said Wednesday that troops have recovered the bodies of one hostage from Gaza and is verifying another possible body.

Israel says Hamas has not provided any information about the status of those 34 hostages, dampening any notion that the endorsement is a step toward a deal to stop the war.

Israel believes a third of the remaining hostages are dead, while a number have been previously freed through negotiated deals. However, Yosef and Hamzah Al Zaydani were believed to still be alive and their bodies’ return could ramp up the pressure on Israel to move ahead on a deal.