Continuing his address, US President Joe Biden said that the Gaza ceasefire deal is “one of the toughest negotiations” he has ever been part of.

“The road to this deal has not been easy at all, it’s been a long road,” he said. “But we’ve reached this point today because of the pressure Israel put on Hamas, backed by the United States.

“Some said my policy of a firm support for Israel … risked drawing America into a wider war in the region. I listened to those voices … but I concluded that abandoning the course that I was on would not have led us to the ceasefire we’re seeing today, but instead, it would risk the wider war in the region that so many feared,” he said.

Biden stated that the region had been “transformed”, as Hamas’ leadership was dead and Hezbollah was “significantly weakened on the battlefield”.

“Israel’s campaign was extremely successful, so much so that by the end of November, the United States had brokered a ceasefire in Lebanon … today there is a new president and prime minister who support a sovereign Lebanon without Hezbollah running the show,” he added.