The United States announced that a ceasefire agreement could be reached in Gaza as early as this week, even though the Israeli military continues to strike the Palestinian enclave in a deadly manner.

Outgoing US President Joe Biden said on Monday that a ceasefire was within reach more than a year after the massacre.

Biden said in his foreign policy speech: “In the war between Israel and Hamas, we are on the brink of the proposal that I presented in detail months ago, and it is finally beginning to bear fruit.”

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also said during a press conference earlier in the day that an agreement could be possible within days.

But he added that such an agreement is not guaranteed.

“We are close to reaching an agreement, and it could happen this week. I am not making a promise or a prediction, but it is there for the taking, and we are able to work to make it happen,” Sullivan said.

He added that Biden recently spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, about the negotiations.

The outgoing US president will also speak soon with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

“We are now at a pivotal point in negotiations on the hostage deal and the Gaza ceasefire,” Sullivan said.

US-brokered ceasefire talks with Qatar and Egypt are in advanced stages in Doha, where senior Israeli negotiators such as the heads of the Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence agencies are expected to stay for another day.

Hamas also said the talks had made some progress on some contentious issues that were discussed several times during the 15-month war that has claimed the lives of more than 46,500 Palestinians in Gaza.

An official in the Palestinian group told Reuters news agency on condition of anonymity: “Negotiations on some basic issues have made progress, and we are working to finalize the rest soon.”

Officials said that the final draft of the agreement, which includes the exchange of prisoners in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, was presented to all parties after recent discussions in the Qatari capital produced results.

Netanyahu and Biden held a phone call on Sunday, discussing the latest developments, with Biden again saying it was time to reach an agreement.

US President-elect Donald Trump and his senior officials have repeatedly threatened that there will be “hell to pay” if prisoners are not released or an agreement is not reached. By the time Trump takes office On January 20th.

“It’s very clear that President Trump’s threat to Hamas and making clear that there will be hell to pay is part of the reason we’ve made progress in getting some of the hostages out,” Vice President-elect J.D. Vance said.

Netanyahu is also facing internal pressure from far-right members of his ruling coalition, who are threatening to leave if a deal is reached – despite Netanyahu’s assertion that Israel will retain military control of Gaza regardless of any agreement.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads one of the ultra-nationalist religious parties in the country’s ruling coalition, said the fact that the deal is taking shape in Qatar is a “disaster for national security.”

Angry family members of Israelis detained in Gaza entered the committee room of the Israeli parliament on Monday to accuse Smotrich of abandoning their loved ones and say that “conditions are ripe for an agreement.”

Israel intensifies its attacks amid the talks

The Israeli army is launching continuous waves of intense air attacks and artillery shelling across the Gaza Strip as talks escalate about a possible agreement.

Medical sources told Al Jazeera on Monday that at least 45 Palestinians were killed last day as a result of Israeli attacks across the Strip.

Many of the attacks were focused on Gaza City in the northern part of Gaza, where more than 10 people fell 100 days of Israeli siege It left at least 5,000 people dead or missing, according to local authorities.

The siege also led to the destruction of hospitals and other vital infrastructure, the displacement of thousands of people and the capture of many Palestinians by the Israeli army.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said in a report from Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on Monday that several drone attacks occurred since the early hours of the morning.

He added: “This is happening in the areas where the vast majority of displaced people have taken refuge, which are areas with high population density.”

The Israeli army said that five of its soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza on Monday, while eight others were wounded.

Their deaths bring the Israeli army’s losses in its war on Gaza to 408 since October 27, 2023.

Yossi Beilin, the former Israeli justice minister who initiated the Oslo peace accords in the early 1990s, told Al Jazeera that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is “long overdue.”

“That’s the main issue: how many are there? [captives and prisoners] Will they be released? Once agreed upon and on [timing] He added: “After their release, it is possible to reach an agreement.”

The humanitarian situation remains dire in Gaza, as the Israeli army continues to prevent most aid from arriving and to starve the population, nearly half of whom are children.