Humanitarian Aid for Palestinians and Israeli Hostages Arrives in Gaza; Fighting Rages

Palestinians inspect a damaged building following Israeli airstrikes on the town of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Dec. 3, 2023. (Fatima Shbair/AP Photo)

Medicines for Palestinians and the roughly 100 hostages still held in the Gaza Strip by the terrorist group Hamas have arrived as part of a mediation deal brokered by Qatar and France.

Sixty-three aircraft are shipping roughly 1,958 tons of medicines, food items, and other vital supplies into Gaza as part of a Qatari-led mediation between Hamas and Israel, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in a Jan. 17 statement.

While Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-Ansari, said the humanitarian aid has arrived, he didn’t explain whether it actually reached the intended recipients. In the past, Israel has accused Hamas of hoarding vital supplies.

“Over the past few hours, medicine & aid entered the Gaza Strip in implementation of the agreement announced yesterday for the benefit of civilians in the Strip, including hostages,” Mr. al-Ansari said.

“Qatar, along with its regional and international partners, continues mediation efforts at the political and humanitarian levels.”

Qatar is still actively negotiating with both parties, Mr. al-Ansari said. However, he didn’t reveal further details on what the discussions might be about.

Red Cross Distributing Supplies in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross will deliver the medicines to hospitals serving all parts of Gaza, Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior Hamas official, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He stated that for every crate of supplies sent for the hostages, 1,000 boxes of medicine would be sent in for Palestinians.

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The latest mediation deal came as a result of intervention by Qatar and France, with the goal of getting medicines and humanitarian aid to the “most affected areas” of Gaza, while also helping the hostages. It’s estimated that at least 45 of the remaining 100 hostages have chronic illnesses that require medicine and other vitamins to manage.

“It also comes within the framework of the State of Qatar’s unwavering support for the brotherly Palestinian people and its full support for them during the current difficult humanitarian conditions,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry stated.

Senior U.N. officials have warned that Gaza will face widespread famine and disease if more aid isn’t allowed in soon. To date, Gaza’s health ministry estimates that more than 24,000 people have been killed during the fighting in Gaza, with at least 60,000 wounded. More than 1,200 people were killed in Israel during the initial assault by Hamas that sparked the conflict.

Fighting still rages across Palestinian territories as Israel continues to advance toward its goal of destroying Hamas and ensuring that the events of Oct. 7, 2023, can never happen again. Meanwhile, Hamas has stated that it won’t release any more hostages until there’s a permanent ceasefire.

Israel and the United States have ruled that out over concerns that the terror group would use a truce to rebuild and attack Israel again.

The last mediation deal brokered by Qatar was a temporary truce in November 2023 in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages held by Hamas, primarily women and children. The agreement also included freedom for dozens of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The deal was marked by instances of both Israel and Hamas accusing each other of breaking the ceasefire. The fighting eventually resumed and hasn’t stopped since.