Talks on getting medicine to hostages advancing — report

High-level talks between Qatar and Hamas are moving toward a deal that could see vital medicine delivered to Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip, The New York Times reports, citing officials.

The talks also include negotiations on moves to get more medical supplies into the Strip, where health authorities say they are facing shortages of drugs and equipment.

An Israeli official says there has been progress on the issue, while Hamas’s Husam Badran says the terror group is engaged in the talks “with great positivity.”

An official says discussions are also underway with international organizations on how to get the medicine to the hostages, who have had no access to the Red Cross since being taken on October 7.

Many suffer from chronic conditions requiring specific medications. Israel had earlier accused the Red Cross of doing too little to attempt to get medication to the hostages.

“The fact that so many hostages have been denied the medications they need is a death sentence,” says Daniel Lifshitz, whose grandfather Oded Lifshitz is held in Gaza. “They should have received what they needed on the first day.”