TEL AVIV, Israel — 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.
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, are preparing for several different scenarios based on information gathered from hostages previously released or rescued.
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. 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, said Dr. Einat Yehene, a psychologist at the Hostages Families Forum who oversees the captives’ rehabilitation.
Doctors are keenly aware of the challenges they face in treating the surviving hostages. One of them is “refeeding syndrome,” when exposure to certain foods or too much food can lead to profound health complications and even death in those with prolonged vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, said Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Ministry of Health’s medical directorate.
The Red Cross team that will transfer the hostages from Gaza to Egypt and the small Israeli military medical team that will meet the hostages at the border as they cross into Israel have strict guidelines for what the hostages can eat in their first few hours, Mizrahi said.
