Deal reached for Gaza to receive medicines as fighting surges

Qatar's mediators on Tuesday succeeded in reaching an agreement between Israel and Hamas to send medications and aid to Gaza, said the Qatari Foreign Ministry.

Israel confirmed on Tuesday that a delivery of vital prescription drugs will enter Gaza on Wednesday. "The medicines purchased in France will also be delivered to hostages held in Gaza by Hamas and other militant groups, and the list of drugs was compiled based on the medical conditions of the hostages, several of whom are in their 70s and 80s," according to a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

"Two Qatari Air Force planes are expected on Wednesday to depart to Egypt with the medicines purchased in France," while upon the arrival of the planes in Egypt, "the medicines will be transferred by Qatari representatives into the Gaza Strip to their final destination," read the statement.

About 130 hostages, including women, men and children, are still in Gaza after being kidnapped during Hamas's surprise attack on October 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 24,285, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said on Tuesday. Gaza is in desperate need of medical aid after Israel has cut the enclave from medicines, food, fuel and water supplies as part of its retaliatory assault.

Qatar, which hosts Hamas's political office, has led negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group, having mediated a week-long break in the conflict in Gaza in November that included the release of scores of Israeli and foreign hostages.

Gaza combat surges

Israeli tanks have stormed back into parts of the northern Gaza Strip they had left last week, residents said on Tuesday, reigniting some of the most intense combat since the New Year when Israel announced it was scaling back its operations there.

Massive explosions could be seen over northern areas of Gaza from across the border with Israel – a rarity over the past two weeks after Israel announced a drawdown of forces in the north as part of a transition to smaller, targeted operations.

The rattle of gunfire reverberated across the border through the night. In the morning, contrails snaked through the sky as Israel's Iron Dome defenses shot down rockets fired by militants across the fence – proof they retain the capability to launch them despite more than 100 days of war.

Israel said its forces had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in clashes in Beit Lahiya on Gaza's northern fringe. Gaza health authorities said the last 24 hours of Israeli bombing had killed 158 people in the Palestinian enclave, raising their toll for the conflict, now in its fourth month, to 24,285, with thousands more bodies feared lost in the rubble.

Fears of escalation

The Houthi group confirmed on Tuesday that its naval forces struck freighter ZOGRAFIA in the Red Sea, claiming that the vessel had insisted on heading for Israeli ports despite the group's warnings.

The attack was carried out in protest against Israel's ongoing blockade and hostilities against the Gaza Strip, said Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea, adding that such attacks would continue until the Israeli blockade and aggression end.

The attack came less than a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for firing a missile at Gibraltar Eagle, a U.S.-owned oil tanker sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

Tensions have escalated in the Red Sea following U.S.-led air strikes on Houthi military targets after repeated Houthi attacks on commercial ships.

Meanwhile, in Southern Lebanon, Israeli drones and warplanes on Tuesday carried out about 30 air strikes, resulting in many casualties, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.

The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing increased tension since October 8 when the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets toward Israel in support of the Hamas attacks on Israel the previous day, prompting Israel to respond by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.

(With input from agencies)