Deliveries of medicine for Israeli hostages and Palestinian civilians are expected to start arriving in Gaza today under a deal mediated by Qatar and France, after a night of deadly bombardments in the territory’s south, AFP reports.

Fighters took around 250 hostages during the bloody October 7 attacks that touched off the conflict, and around 132 are still in Gaza, including at least 27 believed to have been killed.

The fate of those remaining in captivity has gripped Israeli society, while a broader humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory marked by the threat of famine and disease has fuelled international calls for a ceasefire.

In a statement to the official Qatar News Agency (QNA), Doha on Tuesday announced a deal “between Israel and (Hamas), where medicine along with other humanitarian aid is to be delivered to civilians in Gaza… in exchange for delivering medication needed for Israeli captives in Gaza”.

Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari told QNA the medicine and aid would leave Doha on Wednesday for the Egyptian city of El-Arish before being transported to the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the deal.