Israel and Hamas, for now, are complying with what was agreed and the medicines for the Gazans and for the Israeli hostages in the hands of the Islamist organization are already in Egypt and heading to the strip. This strengthens a negotiation that the parties involved trust will continue. The focus is on facilitating a new context that will allow another truce to be proposed and the hostages to be released.
The plane with humanitarian aid and medicine arrived from Doha this afternoon at El Arish airport, on the Egyptian border with the Palestinian enclave. There are questions about how it will be distributed in Gaza. Hamas defends that they will enter without being inspected by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Beniamin Netanyahu states the opposite, that it is his Defense Forces’ responsibility.
According to the Israeli media, the trucks are indeed crossing the border without having a “meticulous” examination. It is expected to remain the same, although Netanyahu has issued a last-minute order to inspect the cargo.
According to Hamas, in addition, the agreed conditions include that in exchange for each package of medicines for the hostages, one thousand be provided to the inhabitants of Gaza, supplied by a trusted country (Qatar) and distributed by the Red Cross in four hospitals that cover all the areas of the strip, as happened in November.
140 different types of medications are included. And for the moment everything is being fulfilled, despite the controversy and Israel over control over the cargo.
In the fourth month of war in Gaza, more than 100 days after the start of the conflict, far from the November truce, both sides give content to the latest agreement despite the fact that fighting continues in the Palestinian enclave, with more than 23,000 dead. . It indicates that the negotiations are currently on firm ground. And also that the mediation of Qatar, Egypt, the United States and France has an effect.
Washington’s gestures also indicate that the intense negotiations continue. “We will continue to make every effort possible,” Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the National Security Council, released in a statement. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, for his part, pointed out at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland that they see a “path toward a change in the military campaign in Gaza.”
