US President Joe Biden, in his final foreign policy address, said that the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal is “on the brink.”
According to Reuters, mediators gave the final draft of the deal to Israel and Hamas on Monday, January 13, 2025, after a midnight “breakthrough” in the peace talks attended by both outgoing and incoming US presidents, Biden and Donald Trump.
Following the talks, the 82-year-old said, “So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace. The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Biden also praised the US support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024 and claimed that Iran is “weaker than it has been in decades.”
Meanwhile, the officials also announced that the US and Arabs have made significant progress in negotiating a ceasefire deal, but they have not reached a deal, reported Sky News.
Moreover, the president-elect told Newsmax in a phone interview, “We're very close to getting it done, and they have to get it done. If they don't get it done, there's going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before. And they will get it done.”
Notably, the next round of Gaza ceasefire talks will be resumed in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, January 14, 2025. As per officials during the talks, they will finalise details related to the deal that include the release of up to 33 hostages.
