A CEASEFIRE deal in Gaza between Israel and Hamas could begin as early as next week, US President Joe Biden said today.

Mr Biden said that a deal would depend on agreement being reached over the release of hostages by Hamas.

But both Israel and Hamas poured cold water on the idea that a deal was imminent.

Israel invaded Gaza, which it had previously held under an illegal siege for 17 years, after the cross-border attack by Hamas on October 7 which killed 1,139 people.

Since then, according to the Gaza health ministry, at least 29,878 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory, mostly women and children.

The prospect of an Israeli invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza has prompted global alarm.

Ceasefire talks have gained momentum in recent days with negotiators from Qatar, Egypt and the US looking for an agreement on freeing some of the dozens of hostages still being held by Hamas and the release by the Israelis of Palestinian prisoners.

The deal on the table proposes a six-week halt to the fighting and for Israel to allow a much-needed increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The UN has warned that famine is imminent in the besieged enclave.

The start of Ramadan, which is on March 10, is seen as an unofficial deadline for a deal, as Israel has threatened to attack Rafah on that day.

The month is a time of heightened religious observance and dawn-to-dusk fasting for hundreds of millions of Muslims around the world. Israeli-Palestinian tensions have flared in the past during the holy month.

During an interview on Monday night on NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers, President Biden said: “Ramadan’s coming up and there has been an agreement by the Israelis that they would not engage in activities during Ramadan as well, in order to give us time to get all the hostages out.”

In separate comments the same day, Mr Biden said that he hoped a ceasefire deal could take effect by next week.

Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that President Biden’s comments came as a surprise and were not made in co’ordination with the country’s leadership. 

Hamas official Ahmad Abdel-Hadi told the Pan-Arab TV channel Al Mayadeen: “The resistance is not interested in giving up any of its demands and what is proposed does not meet what it had requested.”