Joe Biden says Gaza ceasefire could be reached by next Monday

Joe Biden has said he believes a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas could take effect by the start of next week.

The US president, during a visit to New York on Monday, was asked by reporters about the prospects of a ceasefire.

“My national security adviser tells me that we’re close. We’re close. We’re not done yet,” Biden said. “My hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a ceasefire.”

Biden’s comments came just hours after an active-duty member of the US air force died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in protest of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, where its health ministry says nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

The offensive follows cross-border attacks in Israel by Hamas in 7 October that killed about 1,200 people and in which more than 200 people were taken hostage.

A ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas feels closer than it has for weeks after negotiators hammered out the outlines of an agreement between Hamas and Israel that could halt fighting for six weeks, a senior US official said at the weekend.