Israel increases attacks in Gaza after medicine deal in exchange for humanitarian aid

This Wednesday, Israel intensified its bombing in the southern Gaza Strip, devastated by its war with Hamas.where the delivery of medicines for the Israeli hostages is expected in exchange for humanitarian aid for the Gazans, within the framework of a new agreement.

(Also read: Israel and Hamas agree to an exchange of medicines for Gaza and Israeli hostages).

A correspondent of the AFP reported a series of nighttime airstrikes in the city of Khan Younis, in the south of the Palestinian territory, and witnesses indicated shelling near the Nasser hospitalwhere Israel claims that those responsible for the Palestinian Hamas movement are hiding.

Hamas indicated that At least 81 people died overnight in the Gaza Stripwhere the situation is “catastrophic” according to the UN, in the middle of winter.

“My daughter can't sleep, she always tells me she's cold. Look how they sleep on the floor, I have nothing to cover them,” explains Hanine Aduane, displaced by the fighting in Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

The war was triggered by an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 in southern Israel, which left some 1,140 dead on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.

Some 250 people were taken hostage and 132 remain in Gaza, of whom 27 have died, according to Israeli authorities.

About a hundred were freed during a truce in November. In retaliation for the October 7 attack, Israel promised to annihilate Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, where 24,448 people have died so far, the vast majority women, children and adolescents, according to the latest balance from the Ministry of Health of the Islamist movement.

Medicines in exchange for help

On Tuesday, Qatar announced that joint mediation with France made it possible to reach an agreement “between Israel and Hamas to deliver medicines (…) for Israeli hostages in exchange for sending a shipment of humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

(Keep reading: Israel announces end to the 'intensive phase' of the war in northern Gaza: what's next).

The International Committee of the Red Cross welcomed the agreement, saying it was “a moment of much-needed relief.”

An Egyptian security source said Wednesday morning that a Qatari plane arrived in El Arish, Egypt, “loaded with medicine.” In Nir Oz, a kibbutz near Gaza, the hostage family collective “Bring them home now” organized a symbolic first birthday party for the youngest hostage, Kfir Bibas. Hamas announced his death in November but Israeli authorities did not confirm it.

In Tel Aviv, Israeli anti-war protesters clashed with police Tuesday night in a protest against Benjamin Netanyahu's government and the conflict in Gaza.

“If the occupation continues (…) the children growing up in Gaza today will be the ones we will face in a few years,” said Chava Lerman, a protester.

Seven dead in the West Bank

The violence unleashed on October 7 also spread to the occupied West Bank, where seven people were killed in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, according to emergency services and the military. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, an Israeli attack killed four people in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the morning.

(We recommend: WHO warns of 'hellish' situation in Gaza due to lack of access after 100 days of conflict).

In a separate attack near the Balata refugee camp, east of the city of Nablus, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported the death of three men. The Israeli army indicated that Ahmed Abdullah Abu Shalal, described as the head of a “terrorist cell”, was killed, thus preventing a “terrorist attack” he was planning. Another area of ​​tension is the Red Sea.

The US military on Tuesday bombed a site in Yemen from which the Houthi rebelswhich multiplied their attacks against ships they consider linked to Israel, were preparing to launch four missiles.

AFP