Condition of Homebound Israeli Hostages Unknown

Israel is preparing hospitals to receive hostages from Gaza
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 18, 2025 10:30 AM CST
How Israel Is Preparing for the Hostages' Return
An Ultra-orthodox Jewish man walks past graffiti portraits of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, in Jerusalem, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.   (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)

Israel is preparing for the return of the hostages from Gaza with the expectation that many are likely to have severe, life-threatening complications after more than a year in captivity in the Gaza Strip. The AP reports that while it's impossible to know the exact conditions in which hostages have been held, the Health Ministry and the Hostages Family Forum, which represents families of the hostages, is preparing for several different scenarios based on information gathered from hostages previously released or rescued. Six hospitals are preparing to receive hostages, including two close to Gaza in the south that will treat those with acute medical issues, health ministry officials said.

Hagai Levine, who heads the health team at the Hostages Families Forum, said he expects the hostages to return with cardiovascular and respiratory issues due to lack of ventilation in the tunnels where they were kept. Among multiple other afflictions Levine expects are vitamin deficiencies, starvation, dramatic weight loss, vision problems due to a lack of sunlight, broken bones, cognitive impairment, and mental health trauma. As a result, doctors are expecting the hostages will require longer and more complex medical and mental health interventions than did those who returned after the last ceasefire in November 2023.


Hamas militants abducted about 250 people during a cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that also left 1,200 people dead. About 100 hostages are still being held, though Israel believes a third of them are no longer alive. The war that followed the attack has killed more than 46,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and militants but say women and children make up more than half of those killed.

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Experts are pleading with the news media and the public to give the hostages and their families privacy, despite intense interest in their plight. A psychoanalyst who heads a group of health professionals treating survivors of the Oct. 7 attack said, "The first days back are really holy, when a person finally gets to meet with their family, and everyone else needs to take a step back."

(More Gaza stories.)

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