WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has said a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip will be “possible” before the end of his presidency, Anadolu reports.

“Yes. It’s still possible,” Biden said in a televised interview when asked if he believes a ceasefire could be secured with five months left to his term. Biden sat on Wednesday for his first interview with CBS since announcing his decision to pull out of the presidential race late last month.

“The plan I put together, endorsed by the G7, endorsed by the UN Security Council, etc., is still viable.

“And I’m working literally every single day — and my whole team — to see to it that it doesn’t escalate into a regional war. But it easily can,” Biden said in the interview.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered an aircraft carrier group to hasten its arrival in the Middle East, the Pentagon says as mounting tensions raise fears of a region-wide conflagration, AFP reports.

Austin ordered the aircraft carrier strike group, led by the USS Abraham Lincoln and equipped with F-35 fighters, to “accelerate its transit” to the region, said Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder.

He said Austin, who spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Sunday, had also deployed the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the area.

Ryder said the pair discussed “the importance of mitigating civilian harm, progress towards securing a ceasefire and the release of hostages held in Gaza,” and efforts to deter aggression by Iran-aligned groups in the region.