Qatar, France Send Medicine For Hostages Held By Hamas In Gaza

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas was en route to Gaza on Wednesday after France and Qatar mediated the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire in November.

The medicines arrived in Egypt and were to be delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which will then hand them over to Hamas. Qatar said the deal also includes the delivery of additional medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave.

The deal came more than 100 days into a conflict that shows no sign of ending and which has sparked tensions across the Middle East, with a dizzying array of strikes and counterstrikes in recent days from northern Iraq to the Red Sea and from southern Lebanon to Pakistan.

In Gaza, Palestinian militants are still putting up resistance across the narrow coastal strip in the face of one of the deadliest military campaigns in recent history. Some 85% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million people have fled their homes and the United Nations says a quarter of the population is starving.

Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas’ military and governing abilities to ensure that it can never repeat the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Militants burst through Israel’s border defenses and stormed through several communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250.

Israel has also vowed to return the more than 100 hostages still held inside Gaza after Hamas released most of the rest in November in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Israel says only military pressure will bring about the release of more captives, but as the fighting grinds on they are at