As Israel prepares to welcome home 33 hostages freed under a ceasefire with Hamas, health workers are warning of the psychological challenges they will face after their 15-month ordeal. The hostages, including three women who are being released first, were taken captive during Hamas's October 2023 attack that sparked the war. According to Dr. Amir Blumenfeld, a former chief of the Trauma branch of the Israeli army, the hostages can expect to suffer from physical and psychological problems due to their prolonged captivity, with some potentially losing up to half or a third of their original body weight. The health team at the Hostage Families Forum support group is preparing for the challenges that lie ahead, particularly in addressing the mental health needs of the released hostages, including Ilana Gritzewsky who was freed during a previous truce and lost 11 kilos (24 pounds) during her nearly two-month captivity.
https://www.jordantimes.com/news/region/gaza-hostages-face-long-road-recoveryIsraeli officials, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have reached a deal with Hamas to release two hostages who have been held captive for nearly a decade in Gaza. The hostages, Hisham al-Sayed and Avera Mangistu, are Israeli citizens of Bedouin Arab descent who crossed into Gaza on foot in 2014 and 2015 respectively. According to a 2017 Human Rights Watch report, both men had serious mental health conditions and were not combatants or affiliated with the Israeli government. The deal comes after Ms. Mangistu appeared in a 2022 video released by Hamas, showing her lying in a hospital bed struggling to breathe.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-18/what-we-know-hostages-released-gaza-ceasefire/104829006