Palestinians have 'been through hell' as ceasefire deal nears: Biden

US President Joe Biden, delivering his final foreign policy speech of his presidency, said on Monday that "Israel and Hamas [are] on the brink of the proposal laid out in detail months ago, finally coming to fruition", referring to a ceasefire deal built out on the draft proposed last May. 

Washington and its allies Egypt and Qatar are "pressing hard to close this deal", Biden added.

The impending deal, he said, would "free the hostages, pause the fighting, providing security to Israel and allow[ing] us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war".

"They've been through hell," Biden said of Palestinians in Gaza. "So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace, the right to determine their own future. Israel's deserves peace and security, the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited."