The White House said on Monday that US President Joe Biden's Middle East envoy, Brett McGurk, will visit Saudi Arabia this week in hopes of using the diplomatic momentum behind a potential ceasefire in Lebanon to advance similar efforts in Gaza.

White House deputy spokesman Andy Bates told reporters Monday that McGurk will visit the kingdom "where he will discuss using the possibility of a ceasefire in Lebanon as a catalyst for a potential ceasefire in Gaza, the return of hostages and increased stability in the region."

The spokesman did not explain how McGurk's presence in Saudi Arabia to monitor what is happening in Lebanon will help reach a ceasefire in Gaza.

The White House earlier acknowledged "significant progress" in efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah group but said more work remained before an agreement could be finalized, while State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted significant progress toward a ceasefire.

"We continue to work to find a diplomatic solution that will allow civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to safely return to their homes," Miller said, referring to the de facto Israeli-Lebanese border.

The Blue Line refers to a demarcation line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Syrian Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

For his part, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said later that the White House believes that the "path" of the talks is "going in the right direction" after US envoy Amos Hochstein returned to Washington after his latest round of mediation between Lebanon and Israel.

However, Kirby cautioned that the deal was "not done yet," but declined to comment on specific components of the unfinished agreement "so as not to in any way undermine the efforts to actually complete it."

“This remains a top priority for President Biden, which is why we are working hard to broker this deal so that people can return to their lives and homes around the Blue Line, and the rockets and missiles can stop,” he added.

The White House comments come after multiple Israeli media reports indicated that a ceasefire agreement is expected to be announced within two days.

The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation Kan reported, quoting an Israeli source, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to a US-backed ceasefire with Lebanon.

The report came a day after Hochstein threatened on Sunday to withdraw from mediation efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon if Tel Aviv did not accept the US proposal, according to Israeli media.

Israel has stepped up air strikes in Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets as part of a year-long war against the Lebanese group since the start of the Gaza war last year.

More than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon, more than 15,300 injured and more than a million displaced since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

It is noteworthy that on October 1, 2024, Israel expanded the scope of the conflict by launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.