Joe Biden will press Benjamin Netanyahu today to seal a Gaza ceasefire deal, despite the US president’s shock election exit threatening to limit his leverage over the Israeli premier, AFP reports.

Netanyahu will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris — the likely new Democratic presidential nominee — at the White House, a day after he gave a speech to the US Congress vowing “total victory” against Hamas.

As part of his first White House visit during Biden’s presidency, Netanyahu will hold talks with the US leader in the Oval Office at 1pm (5pm GMT), and both will later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.

A senior US administration official said on Wednesday that negotiations on a Gaza deal were in the last stretch and that Biden would try to close some “final gaps” with Netanyahu.

“We believe it’s in the closing stages and a deal is closeable,” the US official said on condition of anonymity, adding that there would be “lot of activity in the coming week”. The US official played down Netanyahu’s fiery speech to Congress, which sparked rowdy protests.