A ceasefire and hostage-release deal between Hamas and Israel is "on the brink" of being finalised, US President Joe Biden has said, as negotiations in the Middle East continue.
"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," Mr Biden said in a farewell speech at the State Department.
Earlier, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said a Gaza truce and hostage release deal is close and could be finalised in the final week of Mr Biden's term.
"We are close to a deal, and it can get done 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," Mr Sullivan told reporters.
Mediators have given Israel and Hamas a final draft of a deal to end the war in Gaza, after a "breakthrough" in talks attended by envoys of both Mr Biden and President-elect Donald Trump - according to an official.
The official said the text for a ceasefire and release of hostages was presented by Qatar to both sides at talks in Doha, which included the chiefs of Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet spy agencies and Qatar's prime minister.
Steve Witkoff, who will become US envoy when Mr Trump returns to the White House next week, attended the talks, the official added.
A US source said the outgoing Biden administration's envoy Brett McGurk was also there.
"The next 24 hours will be pivotal to reaching the deal," the official explained, characterising the draft as the outcome of a breakthrough reached earlier today.
Israel's Kan radio, citing an Israeli official, reported that delegations from Israel and Hamas in Qatar had received a draft and that the Israeli delegation had briefed Israel's leaders.
Israel, Hamas and the foreign ministry of Qatar did not respond to requests for confirmation or comment.
Officials on both sides, while stopping short of confirming that a final draft had been reached, described progress at the talks.
"The negotiation over some core issues made progress and we are working to conclude what remains soon," a Hamas official said.
A senior Israeli official said a deal could be sealed within a few days if Hamas replies to a proposal.
A Palestinian official close to the talks said information from Doha was "very promising", adding: "Gaps were being narrowed and there is a big push toward an agreement if all goes well to the end."
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have worked for more than a year on talks to end the war in Gaza.
In Egypt, a security official said the draft did not comprise the final agreement but "aims to resolve outstanding issues that had hindered previous negotiations".
The warring sides have agreed for months broadly on the principle of halting the fighting in return for the release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian detainees in Israel.
But Hamas has always insisted a deal must lead to a permanent end to the war and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, while Israel has said it will not end the war until the militant group is dismantled.
Mr Trump's inauguration next Monday is widely seen in the region as a de facto deadline.
The President-elect has said there will be "hell to pay" unless hostages held by Hamas are freed before he takes office, while Mr Biden has also pushed hard for a deal before he leaves office.
The official who first disclosed the draft said that Mr Witkoff - the incoming US envoy - pushed the Israeli delegation at the talks to finalise an agreement with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani putting similar pressure on Hamas officials.
Head of Egypt's general intelligence agency, Hassan Mahmoud Rashad, was also in the Doha as part of the talks, the official said.
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Mr Witkoff has travelled to Qatar and Israel several times since late November.
He was in Doha on Friday and travelled to Israel to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday before returning to Doha.
President Biden also spoke by phone with Mr Netanyahu, stressing "the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal," the White House said.
Israel launched its assault in Gaza after Hamas fighters crossed its border in October 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 46,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, with much of the territory laid to waste and most of its population displaced.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich - a hardline nationalist who has opposed previous attempts to reach a deal - denounced the latest proposals as a "surrender" and a "catastrophe for the national security of the state of Israel".
More deaths reported in Gaza
Bloodshed continues in Gaza with Israeli military strikes killing at least 21 people, medics said, including five who died in an attack on a Gaza City school sheltering displaced families.
For the last several months, fighting has been particularly intense along the northern edge of the territory, where Israel said it is trying to prevent Hamas from regrouping and Palestinians accused Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate a buffer zone.
Hamas armed wing spokesman Abu Ubaida said the group's fighters attacked Israeli forces in the area killing at least 10 soldiers and injuring dozens of others in the past 72 hours.
Israel confirmed on Saturday that four soldiers had been killed.
