Some of the seven hostages released from Gaza during the current ceasefire had been held in Hamas tunnels for eight consecutive months, deprived of daylight and human contact, an Israeli medical official revealed on Monday.
“Some of them told us that they’ve been in the past few months, that they’ve been through the entire time, in tunnels, underground,” Reuters quoted Col. Dr. Avi Banov, deputy commander of the IDF Medical Corps, as saying.
“Some of them were alone through the entire time they were there,” he continued. “Those who said they were together were in better shape.”
The Israeli military oversees the initial health assessments of the released hostages.
Banov added that the hostages reported an improvement in their treatment in the final days before their release, when they were allowed to bathe and change clothes, and were provided with better food.
Some hostages had not received adequate care for wounds sustained during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and a few showed signs of “mild starvation,” Banov noted.
The three civilian women released on the first day of the ceasefire, Jan. 19, were discharged from Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan on Sunday, while the four female soldiers freed in the second batch on Jan. 25 are still receiving care at Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.
Beilinson reported that the released hostages’ health is improving, with noticeable progress in nutritional and other indicators, though medical tests are ongoing.
Three hostages are to be released on Thursday—civilian Arbel Yehud, IDF soldier Agam Berger and an unidentified man. Three more abductees are to be freed on Saturday.
Eight of the 33 hostages intended for release during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal are dead, according to a list provided by Hamas.
Eighty-seven of the 251 captives taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack remain in Gaza. This includes the remains of at least 34 hostages, confirmed dead by the Israel Defense Forces. Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015, as well as the body of an IDF soldier killed in 2014. Another soldier’s remains were recovered earlier this month.
