US President Joe Biden said Monday that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel was “on the brink” of being finalised, even as heavy fighting rocked the Palestinian territory.

Since early January, international mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have intensified efforts to reach a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza, which would help facilitate the release of hostages still being held there.

“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.

Earlier on Monday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that a truce deal could be finalised this week.

“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 told reporters.

A source familiar with the negotiations in Doha told AFP there had been “significant progress on the remaining sticking points” in the latest talks in Qatar.

This has led to a new “concrete” proposal being presented to the parties, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

“Israel really wants to release the hostages and is working hard to secure a deal,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said at a press conference.

“The current round of negotiations is the most serious and deep and has made significant progress,” a Palestinian official close to Hamas told AFP on condition of anonymity.

– Far-right opposition –

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, however, warned he would oppose any deal that stopped the war.

“The proposed agreement is a catastrophe for Israel’s national security,” Smotrich said on X. “We will not be part of a surrender deal that involves releasing dangerous terrorists, halting the war, squandering the hard-won achievements paid for in blood and abandoning many hostages still in captivity.