White House National Security Council Adviser Jake Sullivan has said US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss ways to reach a deal on a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of hostages during their meeting on Monday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“[The] overriding focus of the meeting between President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to be about the ceasefire and hostage deal,” Sullivan told the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado.

He said Biden will focus his energy on Netanyahu to “get this deal done in the coming weeks.”

Asked if he is optimistic, Sullivan responded: “I have learned the hard way never to use the word optimism in the same sentence as the Middle East.

“What I will say is that I think we have our best opportunity now that we have had since the last brief hostage deal in November to get to an outcome. It is there for the taking,” he said.