GAZA/TEL AVIV, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Negotiators worked feverishly on Friday to renew the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a senior Israeli official reiterated plans to resume the war unless the Palestinian militant group agreed to release more hostages.

After two last-minute extensions, the enemies marked on Thursday the seventh day of a Qatari-mediated truce with the exchange of eight hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners as well as the infusion of more humanitarian aid into the shattered Gaza Strip.

Egyptian and Qatari mediators, who succeeded in achieving the earlier deals, were working to negotiate a further truce of two days, Egypt's official state media agency said.

Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel was open to continuing the ceasefire if Hamas committed to further hostage releases. Israel had previously set the release of 10 hostages a day as the minimum it would accept to pause its assault.

"We're ready for all possibilities.... Without that, we're going back to the combat," he said on CNN.

Before the prior truce was due to expire early on Thursday, Hamas and its ally, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, put their fighters on alert for a resumption of hostilities.

Israel has sworn to annihilate Hamas, which rules Gaza, in response to the Oct. 7 rampage by the militant group, when Israel says gunmen killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages.

Israel retaliated with intense bombardment and a ground invasion. Palestinian health authorities deemed reliable by the United Nations say more than 15,000 Gazans have been confirmed killed.

When the ceasefire first came into effect a week ago, Israel was preparing to turn the focus of its operation to southern Gaza after its relentless seven-week assault to the north.

Photo from Reuters