The shipment of aid to the Palestinians and medicine for prisoners held by Hamas is due to leave Doha on Wednesday for Egypt and be transported to Gaza.
Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement allowing the delivery of medicine to Israeli captives held in the Gaza Strip and the transport of aid to residents of the besieged Palestinian territory, Qatar announced.
The agreement provides for the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in “the most affected and vulnerable areas” of Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine to Israeli prisoners held by Hamas, the group that governs Gaza, a Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. Tuesday.
Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said the medicines and aid would leave Doha on Wednesday for the Egyptian town of El Arish for delivery to the Gaza Strip.
He said the deal was negotiated by Qatar in cooperation with France.
Earlier, Philippe Lalliot, head of the French Foreign Ministry’s Crisis Center, which is organizing the aid efforts, said negotiations had been going on for weeks and that the initial idea had come from the families of some of the Israeli prisoners .
Specific medical packages for several months, made in France, will be delivered to each of the 45 captives. The International Committee of the Red Cross will ensure coordination on the ground.
Hamas captured around 240 people during its attack in southern Israel on October 7, in which at least 1,139 people were killed, according to an Tel Aviv Tribune tally based on official statistics.
Israel responded to the assault with a devastating bombardment, siege and ground invasion of Gaza. More than 24,000 people were killed in the Israeli attack, according to Palestinian authorities.
More than 100 captives were freed during a week-long truce in late November following lengthy negotiations brokered by Qatar and the United States. In exchange, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Earlier Tuesday, the White House said U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk had been in Doha in recent days to discuss a possible deal on the release of captives.
National security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that McGurk was involved in “very serious and intensive discussions” with the Qataris about another deal.
“We hope it will bear fruit, and it will bear fruit soon,” he said.