U.S. President Joe Biden said on Monday he hoped to see a new ceasefire in Gaza early next week, as delegations from several countries worked to negotiate the first ceasefire since late November.

“My national security adviser tells me we’re close. We’re close. We’re not done yet. My hope is that by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire,” Biden told reporters in New York.

Negotiators have been trying to reach a deal to halt fighting for six weeks. The deal would include the release of hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Hundreds of trucks delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza every day will also be part of the deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the temporary ceasefire would not change Israel’s plan to eventually launch an offensive on the southern town of Rafah to achieve Israel’s goal of eliminating Hamas.

The prospect of Operation Rafah has alarmed the international community because it is home to a large Palestinian population, many of whom have fled other parts of Gaza in search of safety.

“Israel has slowed its attack on Rafah. They have to, and they have,” Biden said during an appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers” earlier Tuesday. Promise me they’re going to try to do that.” They have the ability to evacuate most of Rafah before they go and wipe out what’s left of Hamas. “

Netanyahu’s office said on Monday that the Israeli military had submitted to his war cabinet “a plan to evacuate the population from fighting areas in the Gaza Strip, as well as an upcoming operational plan.”

Netanyahu’s statement on Monday did not provide any details about where Israel planned to send the Palestinians, and Egypt said it would not open the border. Much of Gaza, a narrow territory along the Mediterranean Sea, has been leveled during Israel’s massive counteroffensive following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack that killed 1,200 Israelis.

Nearly 30,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. Israeli operations also injured more than 70,200 people. Israel says it has killed 12,000 Hamas militants.

The United Nations has expressed concern about any plans to move civilians from southern Gaza and plans by Israel to launch an offensive in areas where people already in need of humanitarian aid live.

Hamas captured about 250 hostages in an October attack. About 100 hostages were released during a week-long ceasefire in November. The Israeli military said about 30 hostages held by Hamas were believed to have subsequently died or been killed in Gaza.

Hezbollah conflict

The Israeli military reported on Tuesday that Lebanon carried out airstrikes against the Hamas-allied militant group Hezbollah for a second day in a row.

Tuesday’s attack was in response to a series of Hezbollah rockets targeting a military base in northern Israel, which the Israeli military said did not cause damage.

Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone on Monday, prompting an Israeli airstrike near the Lebanese city of Baalbek that killed two people, it said.

Months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have raised concerns about the spread of conflict in the region.

Hospital evacuation

The United Nations said on Tuesday that a joint effort with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) to evacuate patients from Amal Hospital in Khan Younis was blocked by Israeli forces.

The U.N. humanitarian office said in a statement that the convoy was intercepted for seven hours just after it left the hospital on Sunday, despite prior coordination with Israel to share the personal information of all staff and vehicles involved.

Three PRCS paramedics were detained, two of whom remain in custody, the statement said.

“This is not an isolated incident. Aid convoys have been attacked and systematically denied access to people in need. Humanitarian workers have been harassed, intimidated or detained by Israeli forces, and humanitarian infrastructure has been hit,” the United Nations Humanitarian Office said.

This report contains information from the Associated Press, AFP and Reuters