Israel and Hamas reach agreement for hostages in Gaza to receive medicines

Israel and Hamas, engaged in a war in Gaza, have reached an agreement on the shipment medicines for Israeli hostages and provide humanitarian aid to the population of the Palestinian territory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar announced this in a statement on Tuesday. The spokesperson of the Ministry, Majed al Ansari, announced the “success of joint mediation” between Qatar and France which allowed an agreement to be reached “between Israel and Hamas for the delivery of medicines (…) for the Israeli hostages in exchange of sending a shipment of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip”.

“The medicines and aid will be sent this Wednesday” to Egypt, “on board two planes of the Qatari armed forces, to transport them to the Gaza Strip,” Ansari added, quoted by the official Qatar news agency.

Qatari authorities stressed the need to continue “efforts with regional and international partners, particularly on issues related to humanitarian and medical evacuation.”

Of the 250 people kidnapped in southern Israel during the attack carried out by Hamas on October 7, more than 130 remain captive, of whom at least 25 died without their bodies having been handed over, according to Israeli authorities.

About a hundred hostages were freed during the truce in the clashes at the end of November, in exchange for Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners, according to an agreement negotiated with the mediation of Qatar.

In the last few hours the United States was also confident in the deepening of dialogue between Israelis and the inhabitants of Gaza and had even expressed the possibility of reaching a “short-term” peace agreement.

“The pieces are there to come together and get this done and not in a matter of years, but in the short term, if we all come together and make wise and bold decisions to get us there,” the US National Security Advisor said Jake Sullivan. in his speech at the Davos Forum.

“In this way we could realize a future in which Gaza will never again be used as a platform for terrorism and a future in which Israelis and Arabs can live in peace, so that the Palestinians have their own state and the security of Israel.” it is guaranteed,” the US official said.

Similarly, he argued that although Israel faces a “terrorist threat,” this does not downplay its “responsibility to carry out its operations without ignoring international law and obeying the moral and strategic right to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians.”

Sullivan also underlined the United States’ commitment to promoting the release of hostages held by the Palestinian Islamic movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip and assured that they will work to ensure humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people.