That's really trying to reshape an entire narrative. At its core, this is about Palestinians have a right to self determination in their own land. That has been coopted by Hamas in Gaza. Returning the hostages will not end the current conflict. The Israeli minister for finance (I think) who is an extreme right pol has stated that the IDF will go into Rafah irrespective and if Netanyahu doesn't the gov will fall, hostage return or not.
Hamas literally accepted a ceasefire last week, only for Netanyahu to say it wasn't enough. Neither side, to my mind, want a ceasefire, for different reasons, as they both see winning in different terms. The leader of Hamas in Gaza (don't recall the name) is reportedly saying that they have already won, irrespective of whether he and every Hamas fighter in Gaza dies, i.e. they have achieved their objective. Netanyahu knows that once the war stops he's probably done, so he must "defeat" Hamas to have any political future, and even then its doubtful. His minimum must be that Hamas is defeated, not that the hostages have been returned.