In a joint effort, Qatar and France have brokered a deal involving Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The arrangement focuses on the prompt delivery of medical aid to 45 Israeli hostages currently held by Hamas in Gaza. As part of the agreement, humanitarian and medical assistance will be extended to the severely impacted civilian population.
The two nations confirmed that the aid will depart Qatar bound for Egypt on Wednesday and proceed through the Rafah border crossing.
"Medicine along with other humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, focusing on the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza," Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed al-Ansari stated in a release.
However, specific details about the amount or type of aid for civilians were not disclosed.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that two Qatari Air Force planes, carrying medicines purchased in France based on an Israeli list, were scheduled to land in Egypt. Each of the 45 hostages will receive specific medical packages for several months, which would be coordinated on the ground by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Philippe Lalliot, the head of France's foreign ministry crisis center responsible for coordinating aid efforts, revealed that negotiations for the release of the Israeli hostages had been ongoing for several weeks, with the initial idea originating from the families of some of the Israeli hostages. The official confirmed that France currently has three of its nationals held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza was triggered when Hamas launched what it called Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, a massive, multipronged armed infiltration into Israel by air, land, and sea, in addition to unleashing a barrage of rockets on the Jewish state. This explosion of violence and bloodshed set off the unrelenting bombardment of Hamas targets by the Israel Defense Forces.