By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Battles raged between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip even after both agreed on delivering medicines to Israeli hostages and aid to Palestinians in the war-ravaged territory.
Witnesses said the heavy clashes in the north, which continued Wednesday, showed Israel is far from achieving its stated goal of destroying Hamas, whom Israeli leaders call terrorists. And Hamas launched a barrage of rockets from farther south.
The group also warned that it would not release the remaining hostages after its October 7 attack in Israel that also killed some 1,200 people, including babies and raped women.
The worst attack since the Holocaust, or Shoah, on what is known in Israel as “Black Sabbath” also saw the hostage-taking of more than 240 people. Nearly half of the hostages were released during the truce, but more than 100 remain in captivity
Despite the setbacks, France and Qatar, the Persian Gulf nation that helped mediate a previous cease-fire, said late Tuesday that they had brokered an aid deal between Israel and Hamas.
Under the agreement, Israel would allow the delivery of medicines to Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for additional aid to the more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza.
France said it had been working since October on the deal, which will provide three months’ worth of medication for 45 hostages with chronic illnesses, as well as other medicines and vitamins.
MEDICINES ENTERING
The medicines are due to enter Gaza from Egypt on Wednesday, and the deal is supposed to last for three months, officials said.
Yet more than 100 days into the war, there were no signs Wednesday that peace would return soon to this troubled land amid signs the Israeli-Hamas was turning into a broader global armed conflict.
Outside Israel, American forces said they destroyed four anti-ship missiles in Yemen. The U.S. said the missiles threatened civilian and military vessels.
These latest strikes come as attacks by the Houthis continue despite multiple strikes against them.
It was at least the third time in less than a week that the United States has carried out strikes against the Houthis after the Iran-backed group attacked merchant vessels in the vital Red Sea shipping lane.
The Houthis say the attacks are in support of Palestinians suffering in the Israel-Hanas war.
Yet Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is worsening, with 85 percent of the territory’s 2.3 million Palestinians having fled their homes. United Nations agencies warned of mass starvation and disease.
TRADING STRIKES
The conflict threatened to widen after the U.S. and Israel traded strikes with Iranian-backed groups across the region.
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas’ military and governing capabilities to ensure that the October 7 attack is never repeated.
Hamas stormed into Israel from Gaza that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing up to 250 people.
The Hamas-run health ministry says Israel killed more than 24,000 Palestinians since it launched the war against the group.
Those figures have been complex to verify, and the ministry has not revealed how many combatants were among those who died.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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