Humanitarian aid for the besieged Gaza Strip has been shipped under a deal brokered between Israel and Hamas. The aid, which includes medicines for the Israeli captives that Hamas is still holding, made its way from Egypt on Wednesday, after being flown from France to Qatar.
A senior Hamas official said a Qatari-brokered deal to deliver medicine to Israeli captives in Gaza will include a boost in humanitarian aid for Palestinians in exchange.Â
For each box of medicine provided to the captives, 1,000 boxes will be sent for use by Palestinian civilians, senior Hamas official Moussa Abu Marzouk said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross will deliver all the medicines – including those destined for the captives – to hospitals serving all parts of Gaza. The agreement also includes the delivery of additional food and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Abu Marzouk said Israeli authorities will not have the chance to inspect the shipments. He says Hamas insisted Qatar provide the medication and not France because the European country supported Israel.
Israeli media has reported that the two planes carrying aid from Qatar have landed in Egypt.
There is a lot of pressure in Israel from the families of the captives to give proof that these medications will arrive at their intended destination.
“We were the ones who asked our brothers in Qatar to provide medicine because of our trust in them, and they gratefully agreed,” Marzouk said.
