In his fourth and final presidential address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Joe Biden on Tuesday made the case that diplomacy is still possible in the Middle East, despite the recent escalation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Biden’s 25-minute address was part victory lap, part goal-setting exercise, as he described the issues he thinks deserve more global outrage, such as the bloody civil war in Sudan. But time is running out for the one-term president, who will leave office in less than four months. He described one goal that continues to elude him: a hostage and cease-fire deal in Gaza. 

Biden promoted a deal that the U.S. introduced in May and called for Israel and Hamas to agree to it: “Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza, free of Hamas’ grip, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” he said.

Biden addressed “the horrors of Oct. 7,” stating that “any country would have the right and responsibility to ensure that such an attack could never happen again.” He described meeting the families of hostages held in Gaza, and likened their pain to that of suffering civilians in Gaza.

“I’ve met with the families of those hostages. I’ve grieved with them. They’re going through hell,” said Biden. “Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Thousands and thousands killed, including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding in the tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation. They didn’t ask for this war that Hamas started.” 

Despite an audience of the world’s top leaders, Biden largely stuck to the same script he has used on other occasions when discussing the deal over the last four months. While some incremental progress took place over the summer, Hamas’ killing of six hostages in August as Israeli forces attempted to rescue them has led U.S. officials to express greater skepticism about the odds of reaching a deal. That reality was not reflected in Biden’s speech.

Even while describing the stalled deal, Biden also outlined his broader vision for the Middle East, which requires addressing “the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians in the West Bank” in order to “set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition, and normalize relations with all its neighbors, where Palestinians live in security, dignity and self-determination in a state of their own.” 

The president also mentioned the intensifying war between Israel and Hezbollah, although he did not directly discuss the ramped-up hostilities in recent days, as Israel has sought to target Hezbollah assets in Lebanon and Lebanon has responded with continued rocket attacks on Israel. 

“Since Oct. 7, we’ve also been determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region. Hezbollah, unprovoked during the Oct. 7 attack, launching rockets into Israel. Almost a year later, too many on each side of the Israeli-Lebanon border remain displaced,” Biden said.

Biden subtly hinted at the recent flurry of activity, arguing that a deal is still possible even as violence erupts on Israel’s northern border.

“Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even a situation that is escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible. In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely,” said Biden. 

He also called out the “ongoing threat posed by Iran,” calling on world leaders to “deny oxygen to terrorist proxies, which have called for more October 7ths, and ensure that Iran will never, ever obtain a nuclear weapon.” 

Then, the president moved on — to Sudan, to climate change, to artificial intelligence and to reforming the U.N. to give Africa more representation, reflecting the reality that while war rages in the Middle East, it is just one of many crises vying for U.S. attention.

Biden acknowledged the domestic backdrop of his speech, reminding world leaders that he made the choice not to seek a second term. He connected that choice to what he described as the “central cause” of his presidency: “the preservation of democracy.” 

“My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power,” Biden said, as he reflected on the end of his 50-year political career. He closed his speech on an optimistic note, calling for global leaders to work together to solve big challenges.

“It’s remarkable the power of ‘we the people’ that makes me more optimistic about the future than I’ve ever been since I was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972,” said Biden. “Every age faces challenges. I saw it as a young man. I see it today. But we are stronger than we think. We’re stronger together than alone.”