US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken by phone – in Biden’s final week in office – as momentum builds towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel and Hamas are understood to be making progress but uncertainty remains over key aspects of the potential agreement.
The White House said Biden discussed the "fundamentally changed regional circumstances" following Israel’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.
Netanyahu’s office said he had updated Biden on instructions he had given to senior negotiators in Doha "in order to advance the release of the hostages".
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