Egypt received assistance designated for Israeli hostages and the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday for transfer across the border, following an agreement mediated by Qatar and France. Egyptian security officials and the Red Crescent stated that two Qatari planes arrived in El Arish in northern Sinai, Egypt, where supplies were offloaded and transported to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, located about 28 kilometers to the east.
One of the planes was carrying medical packages intended for 45 of the 253 hostages that Israel claims were taken by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) during its attack on southern Israel on October 7. Qatar stated that supplies intended for Palestinian civilians that arrived on Wednesday would be distributed in the most affected areas of Gaza in exchange for the delivery of aid for the hostages.
A French official stated earlier that the initial idea for delivering aid came from the families of some Israeli hostages, and negotiations extended over several weeks. Relief agencies report that the Israeli military campaign has left all residents of Gaza facing catastrophic levels of hunger and increasing risks of disease as supplies dwindle. The new United Nations coordinator overseeing humanitarian aid shipments and reconstruction in Gaza visited Sinai on Wednesday as part of efforts to increase the flow of relief. She told reporters, "I came here with a mandate from the United Nations Security Council to see how we can facilitate and expedite the aid in all its forms that civilians desperately need in Gaza, under the extremely difficult humanitarian conditions they are forced to endure."
