Israel-hamas deal yields Gaza medical shipment

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

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Majed al-ansari, announced late Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, that the shipment had crossed into Gaza, without saying whether the medicine had been distributed.

A senior Hamas official said that for every box provided for the hostages, 1,000 boxes of medicine would be sent in for Palestinians. The deal includes the delivery of humanitarian aid to residents of the besieged coastal enclave.

The agreement came more than 100 days into a conflict that shows no sign of ending and 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.

Palestinian militias are still putting up resistance across Gaza in the face of one of the deadliest military campaigns in recent history. About 85% of the narrow coastal territory’s 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 to ensure that it can never repeat an attack like the one on Oct. 7 that triggered the war. Terrorists burst through Israel’s border defenses and stormed through several communities, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing around 250.

Israel also has promised to win the return of more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza. In late November, Hamas released most of the women and children held captive in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

Hamas has said it will not release any more hostages until there is a permanent cease-fire, something Israel and the United States, its top ally, have ruled out.