US Secretary of State Antony Blinken considered that reaching a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia is still possible before the end of US President Joe Biden's term.

During a press conference in Haiti on Thursday, Blinken indicated that the agreement would first require a ceasefire in Gaza, along with Israeli approval for a "credible path to a Palestinian state," which Saudi Arabia insists on and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly rejects.

Blinken said, "There will be a lot of work to be done on this," adding that Israel and Saudi Arabia have confirmed that they are interested in such an agreement.

He continued, "I believe that if we can achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, there will still be a chance to move forward with normalization under this administration."

Blinken confirmed that about 90 percent of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza has been agreed upon, but there are critical issues still pending, including the so-called Philadelphia Corridor on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip at the border with Egypt.

He noted that Washington will present more ideas at the negotiating table in the coming days.

Blinken added, "I expect in the coming days that we will convey our ideas to Israel and that (Qatar and Egypt) will convey them to Hamas, the three of us, regarding how to solve this."

Israel and "Hamas" are exchanging accusations of obstructing reaching a truce agreement after eleven months of war, at a time when Netanyahu is facing increasing internal pressure to finalize an agreement that would lead to the release of hostages taken during the October 7 attack.

For his part, Netanyahu denied the existence of a close agreement, stating in an interview with the American network "Fox News": "No, unfortunately, we are not close (to an agreement), but we will do everything to push them to accept an agreement that also prevents Iran from rearming Gaza."

However, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the opposite, noting that "90 percent of the agreement is nearly completed is an accurate statement. I think we are close to that," adding that "the framework has been agreed upon, and discussions are currently about implementing the details, especially regarding prisoner exchanges."