Israel agreed to expand transfer aid to Gaza in exchange for meds for hostages — official

Israel has agreed to expand the entry of medications as part of the humanitarian aid entering Gaza for Palestinians as part of the agreement Qatar brokered with Hamas that will see medications transferred to the hostages in the coming days, an Israeli official tells The Times of Israel.

Negotiations were complex, as Hamas doesn’t want the transfer of medications to the hostages to lead to Israel discovering where exactly they’re being held, the official says.

The list of medications for the hostages will include ones deemed as “life-saving” by their doctors and believed to include medicine for those with chronic illnesses, heart disease, high blood pressure and asthma, the official says.

The official says that Israel has been pushing from the get-go for medications to be transferred to Hamas, which has until this week refused to cooperate. The terror group buckled amid heightened pressure from Qatar, the official says.