US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, "We are very close to a ceasefire and hostage release agreement," hoping to reach it in the time remaining for President Joe Biden's administration.

“I hope we can get it done in the time we have left, but if we don’t, the plan that President [Joe] Biden has put forward for a ceasefire and hostage release will be handed over to the next administration, and I think when we get that deal — and we will get it — it will be based on the plan that President Biden put forward to the world last May,” Blinken said at a news conference with his French counterpart in Paris, stressing that the Biden administration has spent a significant amount of time pushing an initiative to govern Gaza after the war that includes arrangements for the security, governance and reconstruction of the Strip.

"We are prepared to hand that over to the [Trump] administration so they can work on it and take advantage of it when the opportunity arises," he added.

Blinken also highlighted the work the Biden administration has done to secure a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“All of this is ready to be implemented if the opportunity arises, with a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as understandings about a path forward for the Palestinians. So there is a tremendous opportunity there,” Blinken said.

Regarding the situation in Lebanon, Blinken confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday on the sidelines of his visit to France that the ceasefire monitoring mechanism in Lebanon is "working well," highlighting that the agreement to end the fighting in this country was achieved through American and French efforts.

He expressed his hope for "sustainable peace" in Lebanon, saying, "Yesterday we saw that more than a third of the Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon. I believe that the ceasefire can form a bridge towards sustainable peace."