US President Joe Biden said Monday that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Hamas and Israel is "on the brink" of being finalized, amid growing optimism in Washington about negotiations in the Middle East.
"In the war between Israel and Hamas, we're on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition," Biden said in a farewell speech at the State Department.
Biden has been working the phones as he seeks a prized peace deal in his final days in office before Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20, reports AFP.
He said the proposed agreement would include a surge of aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the release of hostages held by Hamas and a halt to the fighting in the enclave.
"We're working urgently to close this deal," Biden said.
The outgoing US president said he would be speaking soon to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has played a key role in negotiations.
He also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and called the ruler of mediator Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on Monday.
A peace deal has seemed within reach on a number of previous occasions since the Gaza war broke out following Hamas's October 6, 2023 attack on Israel, only then to collapse.
But optimism is growing in Washington that an agreement is possible.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said earlier Monday as that a truce was "close."
"We are close to a deal, and it can get done this week," Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
"I'm not making a promise or prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are going to work to make it happen."
Sullivan said the "gaps have fundamentally narrowed down" between Israel and Hamas.
Progress had been made on issues including the formula for the exchange of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and on how Israel's forces would be "postured" in Gaza, he said.
Sullivan credited the fact that Israel had achieved its military objectives in Gaza, while Hamas has suffered "catastrophic losses."
"When you put those two factors together, we believe that the time is right to get a deal and to have to close," Sullivan said.
Trump's team has also been involved in the negotiations, with the transition in full swing with just a week before the president-elect is set to be sworn in.
Steve Witkoff, Trump's expected Middle East envoy, met on Monday with Qatar's ruler, along with Biden's envoy Brett McGurk.
Trump has warned Hamas of "hell to pay" if it does not free the remaining captives before his inauguration.