U.S. officials said efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are nearing the final stages, as diplomats worked frenetically to bring the fighting to an end at last and also keep Iran from a retaliatory strike that might ignite a wider war.

“We are closer than we’ve ever been” to an agreement, President Joe Biden said in Washington Friday, hours after Egyptian and Qatari mediators and U.S. envoys concluded two days of talks in Doha and vowed to convene another round by the end of next week in Cairo. Biden deployed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel, with the top U.S. diplomat set to depart Saturday to press for the deal.