Hamas and Israel have agreed to trade medicine for Gaza civilians and Israeli hostages. The deal was once again brokered by Qatar, a relatively unaligned party that receives confidence from both sides.
Medicine has been in acute shortage in Gaza itself. Both acquiring and distributing supplies in has been difficult. CNN says:
Qatar says it has brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas that will see medicines delivered to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for the delivery of medicine and humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians.
“Medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in the Gaza Strip, in the most affected and vulnerable areas, in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza,” the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday in a statement posted on X.
Israeli hostages have been very important for Hamas’s continued survival. While delaying Israel’s military victory, Hamas is hoping its allies can put enough pressures on world actors to extract statehood.Politico continues:
The agreement came more than 100 days into a conflict that shows no sign of ending and which 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 militants are still putting up resistance across Gaza in the face of one of the deadliest military campaigns in recent history. Some 85 percent 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.
Currently, the Houthi attacks on shipping seem to be the best bet to apply pressure on the West. Israel will need to finish the war as soon as possible and find a political solution amenable to its security concerns.
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