Washington: US President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Qatar and Egypt to try and close a ceasefire deal for Gaza and for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, the White House announced.

“President Biden spoke with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar and separately spoke with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi of Egypt to discuss diplomatic efforts to bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to a conclusion,” the White House said in a statement on Friday.

News of the discussion came after US media reported that Biden had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull Israeli forces from Gaza’s border with Egypt so that negotiations on the hostage release and ceasefire deal could move forward.

Israeli officials cited in the report said Biden asked for Israeli forces to be removed from a small part of the Philadelphi corridor during the first phase of the deal.

The requested area comprises a 1-2 kilometer strip along the Egypt-Gaza border near where large numbers of displaced Palestinians are sheltering. Netanyahu partially agreed with Biden’s request, according to the report.