WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden will launch a renewed drive for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal Wednesday now that Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to a truce in Lebanon, his national security adviser said, further confirming the president’s comments the previous day.

The truce that began before dawn Wednesday in south Lebanon means the Iran-backed Lebanese terror organization Hezbollah is no longer fighting to support Hamas in Gaza. That will increase pressure on the Palestinian terror group to agree to a deal, Jake Sullivan told MSNBC.

Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu right before the US- and French-brokered truce with Hezbollah was announced Tuesday and they agreed to try again for a Gaza agreement that has eluded negotiators for months, Sullivan said.

“President Biden intends to begin that work today by having his envoys engage with Turkey, Qatar, Egypt and other actors in the region,” Sullivan said.

“We believe that this is the beginning of an opportunity for a more stable Middle East in which Israel’s security is assured and US interests are secured,” he added.

The Israel-Hezbollah deal was a rare boost for Biden as he prepares to leave the White House and be replaced by President-elect Donald Trump on January 20.

As he announced the agreement Tuesday, Biden said the United States, Turkey, Egypt, Qatar and Israel would make another push for a ceasefire in Gaza, where Israel is still at war with Hamas following the Palestinian group’s deadly October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which saw terrorists infiltrate the south of the country, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.

It is believed that 97 of the hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 34 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the Israeli military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

During his speech, Biden also said Washington would push for a long-explored deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.