The issue is highly pressurized because the existing deal is set to expire Thursday morning with the resumption of the war.
Since the beginning of the ceasefire, 63 Israeli hostages and 20 foreign nationals have been released from Gaza by Hamas and 180 Palestinian prisoners were released by Israel.
Qatar, which mediated the original hostage deal even though it has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel, sent an intelligence delegation to Israel on Saturday to discuss extending the deal.
Winston Churchill once described Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Qatar is close to meriting the same epithet.
Begun days after Hamas's October 7 attack, the painstaking negotiations finally culminated in a deal to release 50 hostages in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners and a four-day pause in fighting.
As part of that deal, Israel would agree to a five-day ceasefire, during which time the hostages would be released in small groups.
The deal would also involve increasing the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza, an official said.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum insisted that any move for a ceasefire must include the release of all of the hostages from Gaza.
Netanyahu spoke amid growing pressure from the international to press Israel to accept a mechanism for a series of humanitarian pauses.
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