Ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas 'on the brink of coming to fruition,' Biden says

Advances have been made in negotiations to broker a deal that would end Israel's deadly assault on Gaza and see the release of hostages held by Hamas.

A ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is “on the brink of coming to fruition,” President Joe Biden said Monday.

In his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week, Biden said his administration was “working urgently” to close the agreement.

Multiple officials had said negotiators made significant progress over the weekend in ongoing attempts to broker a truce after 15 months of deadly fighting in Gaza and the release of hostages held in the enclave for just as long.

Earlier Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a deal was “closer than we’ve ever been,” and the administration was “very hopeful that we get it over the finish line, finally, after all this time.”

The White House has been pushing both sides to reach an agreement — and a deal may be just days away, two U.S. officials close to the negotiations told NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/ceasefire-talks-israel-hamas-make-real-progress-rcna187358

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