A deal to allow the delivery of medicines to hostages in Gaza and aid into the territory has been agreed following mediation by Doha and Paris, Qatar and Israel announced on Tuesday.
In a statement to the official Qatar News Agency, the foreign ministry announced the deal "between Israel and (Hamas), where medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in Gaza... in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza".
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed the deal and said: "The medicines will be forwarded by Qatari representatives in the Gaza Strip to their final destination."
, having mediated a week-long break in the war in Gaza in November which included the release of scores of Israeli and foreign hostages.
Israel has bombarded Gaza since Hamas' 7 October attack in which some 1,200 people, including an estimated 30 children, were killed and over 200 hostages taken, according to the Israeli government. More than 24,285 people have been killed in Gaza since 7 October, at least 70 per cent of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
The 7 October attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari told QNA "the medications and aid will leave Doha tomorrow to the city of Al-Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, on board two Qatari Armed Forces aircrafts, in preparation for their transport into the Gaza Strip".
A diplomat briefed on the talks told AFP the deal followed a visit by the families of hostages held in Gaza to Qatar and a meeting with the Gulf nation's prime minister.
"Qatar has fast-tracked engagement with Hamas and Israel on the need to get medicine to the hostages and to civilian Palestinians in Gaza. Both have shown willingness," the diplomat said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of talks.
The diplomat said mediators were working to finalise details and discussing with international organisations logistics for delivery, while stressing that the talks are separate from wider efforts towards a ceasefire.
, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006.
Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.
Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote.
In 2021 the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas.
