Hamas has accepted a draft agreement for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of dozens of hostages, two officials involved in the talks said Tuesday. Mediator Qatar said Israel and the Palestinian militant group were at the “closest point” yet to sealing a deal that would bring them a step closer to ending the war.

WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Outgoing President Joe Biden sought to burnish his foreign policy record on Monday and said U.S. adversaries are weaker than when he took office four years ago despite global crises that remain unresolved.

A week before handing over to President-elect Donald Trump, Biden addressed U.S. diplomats at the State Department and touted his administration's backing for Ukraine against Russia's 2022 invasion and for Israel's wars in the Middle East.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that his stewardship of American foreign policy has left the U.S. safer and economically more secure, arguing that President-elect Donald Trump will inherit a nation viewed as stronger and more reliable than it was four years ago.

President Joe Biden delivered a speech Monday defending his foreign policy legacy after a term that was defined by a level of geopolitical instability unseen since the end of the Cold War. Speaking at the State Department, Biden, 82, began by declaring the post-Cold War period over and acknowledging that great power geopolitical competition has returned. The U.S. is on top in this new era of revived competition thanks to his performance as president, Biden argued.

Jack Lew was nominated by President Joe Biden as the US ambassador to Israel in early September 2023 — a month before Hamas’s invasion and massacre in southern Israel. He arrived to take up the post a month after that catastrophe. His time here, now coming to an end with the return of Donald Trump to the White House, has been a period of terrible crisis, as he puts it, “from beginning to end.”

Two Israeli soldiers survived battles with Hamas and Hezbollah in their homeland after Oct. 7 — only to be severely injured in the ISIS-inspired rampage in New Orleans while on vacation.

The unidentified “best friends” in their mid-20s — who were traveling around the US to “clear their heads” after serving in the Israel Defense Forces reserves for more than a year — were “severely” injured after being rammed in the New Year’s Day terror attack, Israel’s consul to the Southwest United States told The Post.

The Palestinian Authority announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily bar Al Jazeera from operating in its areas, accusing the Qatari-funded broadcaster of “inciting sedition” and “interfering in internal Palestinian affairs.” The move comes several months after the news outlet was banned by Israel on national security grounds.