ISTANBUL, Jan 17 — Qatar announced Tuesday that it has successfully mediated an agreement between Israel and Hamas that will enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to civilians in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicines to Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group.
The agreement is a joint effort between Qatar and France, Anadolu Agency reported Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majid bin Mohammed Al Ansari as telling Qatar News Agency (QNA).
Al Ansari said the humanitarian aid is scheduled to be dispatched Wednesday to the Egyptian city of El Arish, utilising two Qatari Armed Forces planes, before reaching the Gaza Strip.
At least 24,285 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 61,154 injured, since Israel attacks on the besieged enclave on October 7, last year, according to Palestinian health authorities.
According to the UN, 85 per cent of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure is damaged or destroyed.
— Bernama
