Israel is preparing to welcome dozens of hostages held by Hamas for more than a year in Gaza. Starving, multiple traumatized… Nobody knows in what state they will return. For the moment, the first to have been released, as part of an agreement with Israel, are three young Israeli women: Romi Gonen (24 years old), Emily Damari (28 years old) and Doron Shatanbar Khir (31 years old). Since Sunday, January 19, the entire country has had its eyes glued to their emaciated faces and has been following the information on their state of health trickling in. They are “in a stable condition”, announced Itay Pessach, a doctor at Sheba hospital in Ramat Gan (center), during a press conference. Before adding: “This allows us, as well as them, to focus on what is most important at the moment: finding their families.”
Despite the somewhat forced smiles in front of the cameras, these young women find themselves at the start of a long road towards reconstruction. Like the remaining 30 hostages who should be released during a first phase of six weeks, they will benefit from medical and psychological monitoring for at least a year after their release, with regular checkpoints: after two weeks , one month, then every three months. They should also receive financial assistance from the Israeli state and the Ministry of Social Protection has provided temporary accommodation solutions in the event that ex-detainees feel unable to return directly to their homes.
An Israeli ministry official affirmed that the new protocols were “considerably” different from the system put in place during the release of the hostages in November 2023: “We noted that the hostages were then in a difficult state, even if they had few medical problems, Dr. Noa Ziv of Schneider Children’s Hospital, located near Tel Aviv, testified to the Israeli daily Times of Israel. This was after about 50 days of captivity. We can only speculate about the complex health and mental state the hostages will find themselves in after 466 days of captivity.”
Pregnancy tests
Returning from Gaza, the ex-hostages will remain hospitalized for “at least four days”, assured the Ministry of Health Israeli. “In total, six hospitals are mobilized, including four in the center of the country: Ichilov, Beilinson, Tel Hashomer and Shamir-Assaf Harofeh,” recalls Israeli news channel i24News. On her website, Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, director of the health ministry’s medical division, explains that the treatment of the hostages will be managed in an area separate from other patients. To help them acclimatize to their new daily life, authorities will try to limit the number of people who interact with them and try to reduce their sensory stimulation, by changing the lighting in their hospital room for example.
The ex-hostages will have to undergo a battery of examinations, depending on their needs. Women of childbearing age will therefore systematically take a pregnancy test (BHCG), and they will be offered screening tests for infectious diseases. They will also be supported by dieticians, in order to eat normally again, after months of malnutrition. “There is a risk that returning hostages will develop refeeding syndrome, which can lead to serious harm,” continues Dr. Mizrahi in an article in the Times of Israel. According to the specialist, the Red Cross team, which transfers the hostages from Gaza to Egypt, has strict guidelines on what the hostages can eat during their first hours.
Psychiatric support
Furthermore, the ex-hostages will, unsurprisingly, be supported on the psychiatric side. Medical officials are prepared for the possibility that captives may need speech therapy, especially if they have been kept in solitary confinement. Traumatized, some may no longer be able to speak, according to Times of Israel. Finally, increased attention to hygiene will be given, due to concerns over potential exposure to pathogens during captivity.
Israel says 91 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 36 dead confirmed by the IDF. Support will also be provided to the families of the hostages who did not survive.