Aid destined for Israeli hostages and Palestinian residents in the Gaza Strip has been delivered to Egypt for transfer across the border, following a deal brokered by Qatar and France, Reuters reports.

Two Qatari planes arrived in El Arish in the north of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, where supplies were unloaded and transferred to the Rafah border crossing with Gaza about 28 kilometres away to the east, Egyptian security and Red Crescent officials said.

One of the planes was carrying medical packages for 45 of the 253 hostages Israel says were captured by Hamas during its incursion into Israel on October 7.

Sigrid Kaag, the new UN Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, visited Sinai as part of the effort to increase the flow of relief.

“I’m here because the mandate of the Security Council to see how we can facilitate, accelerate and expedite all areas of the assistance that is so much needed for civilians in Gaza, given the very acute humanitarian conditions that they have to live with,” she told reporters.