Qatar is brokering high-level talks between Israel and Hamas to deliver medical supplies to both Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip and civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The families of the 120 hostages still being held in Gaza raised concerns about their medical needs during a meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Ad al-Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha. expressed. Officials confirmed to the New York Times.
Daniel Lifshitz, the grandson of 83-year-old hostage Oded Lifshitz, also spoke to the magazine about the conversation.
Several of the hostages have chronic illnesses such as cancer and diabetes and require regular prescription medication, the Times said.
“The fact that so many hostages were not given the medicine they needed was a death sentence. They should have received what they needed on the first day,” Lifshitz said.
An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there had been progress in talks regarding medical supplies for both hostages and Gazan civilians affected by Israel's retaliatory attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Israel has indicated its intention to allow the delivery of medical supplies to civilians, the official explained.
The United Nations says only 15 hospitals in Gaza are at least partially functional three months into the war.
Hussam Badran, a senior Hamas official, wrote in a text message that the terrorist group was participating in negotiations “very positively,” the paper added.
Israel has allowed trucks carrying medical supplies into Gaza, but the United Nations says few supplies are reaching residents.
“I am worried that if this situation continues, many people will not be able to survive. We are dealing with an impossible situation,” said Maternal Medicine at Nasser Medical Center in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Director Waleed Abu Khattab told The Times by phone.
The hospital said it was running out of baby formula, vaccines and anesthetics.
Meanwhile, the Red Cross has not been able to visit hostages since the war began, The Times reported.
The organization doesn't even know where the hostages are being held, the newspaper said.
“As a humanitarian effort, the ICRC team has appealed to affected parties and other influential persons to deliver medical supplies to the hostages,” Jason Stragiuso, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, told the Times.
“The most important step is to get medicines into the hands of those who need them. We will not be satisfied until they are satisfied,” Straziuso insisted.
“The lives of all the hostages are at risk, especially those who need medical treatment,” said Dr. Hagai Levin, chairman of the medical team at the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
“My hope is that they will finally get the care they deserve,” he said.
