This afternoon Israel is preparing for the return of the first hostages due to be released by Hamas since November 2023, and the country is readying itself to contend with the myriad physical and mental complications that are sure to mark the lengthy road to recovery for the three women – Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher – after 15 months of captivity in Gaza.
On Sunday, the first day of the ceasefire, Hamas is expected to release the three hostages in exchange for 90 Palestinian prisoners, handing them over to Red Cross officials who are expected to transport them through the Rafah crossing into Egypt in what is thought to be an effort to minimise contact between Hamas and IDF troops. The hostages will then be taken into Israel where they will be met by medical staff, psychologists and welfare specialists before being admitted to hospital, where they will be reunited with family members.
Though the Israeli Health Ministry and Hostages Forum possess virtually no knowledge of the three women’s conditions, they are preparing hospitals and mental health professionals to deal with extreme and potentially life-threatening difficulties.
This image grab taken from AFPTV video footage on November 25, 2023 shows an International Red Cross vehicle reportedly carrying hostages released by Hamas driving towards the Rafah border point with Egypt ahead of their transfer to Israel. The Red Cross will mediate the latest hostage release due to take place on 19 January, 2025. (Photo by BELAL AL SABBAGH/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
Hagai Levine, head of the health team at the Hostages Forum, told the Times of Israel that he expects the hostages to return with cardiovascular and respiratory issues due to the lack of ventilation in the tunnels. He also anticipates the hostages will have suffered severe vitamin deficiencies, starvation, vision problems due to a lack of sunlight, broken bones and mental health trauma.
Six hospitals have prepared dedicated suites for the hostages’ arrival, including two in the south near Gaza which will treat those with acute medical issues, according to health ministry officials.
Professor Eli Sprecher, CEO of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre, told CNN: “There’s a lot of data suggesting that they may all be suffering from severe malnutrition and this requires a very specific program in order to progressively, gradually provide them with all the nutrients that they have been missing.”
Dr. Einat Yehene, a psychologist at the Hostages Families Forum who oversees the hostages’ rehabilitation, told the Times of Israel that those released in the upcoming ceasefire negotiation will need more complex interventions than those released in November 2023, and the public should not expect to see happy reunion clips like those seen during the last hostage release.
Yanit Ashkenazi, the sister of Doron Steinbrecher who is among the three hostages due to be released by Hamas on 19 January, has been awaiting her sister’s release for 15 months. (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Given the physical and emotional conditions, we expect emotional withdrawal symptoms, such as maybe exhaustion, fatigue — and some will probably need assistance with their mobility,” she said.
The hostages will be kept away from the press while they receive medical and psychological support. Hospital wings where the hostages and their families are staying will be closed to all but immediate family members and doctors in order to maintain privacy.
According to the Times of Israel, the Ministry of Social Welfare has prepared temporary housing options if hostages feel unable to return directly from the hospital to their home.
Doron Steinbrecher, a 31-year-old Romanian-Israeli veterinary nurse, is one of the three hostages expected to be released today. Her mother told the Financial Times that Steinbrecher was hiding under her bed when Hamas militants invaded her home in Kfar Aza on October 7.
Her family has previously expressed concern that Steinbrecher was not receiving her medication while in captivity, though it is not clear for what condition.
People raise a placard bearing a picture of Israeli hostage Romi Gonen, now 24, who is among the three women poised to be released on 19 January as part of the latest ceasefire negotiation. (Photo by OREN ZIV/AFP via Getty Images)
Steinbrecher’s return has been long awaited by her sister, Yamit Ashkenazi, who recently had a new tattoo done: a depiction of a rising sun, but with some of the rays missing.
“They will be added when she is home,” Ashkenazi told the BBC.
Romi Gonen, 24, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7. Gonen was on the phone with her mother while attempting to flee in a vehicle with her friends when she said she had been shot. Her final words to her mother were: “They shot me, Mom and I’m bleeding. Everyone in the car is bleeding.”
The car carrying the group of friends was later discovered empty and Gonen’s phone was tracked to Gaza. A hostage released in November reportedly told Gonen’s family that she was still alive but in poor health.
Her family told the Mail last year: “Her hand does not function. Her fingers are barely moving and are changing colours.”
Mandy Damari, pictured speaking to press, has been fiercely advocating for the release of her daughter Emily, a British-Israeli citizen, from captivity in Gaza. Emily is among the three women scheduled for release on 19 January, 2025 as part of the latest ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari, 28, was abducted from her home on October 7 and was “shot in the hand, injured by shrapnel in her leg, blindfolded, bundled into the back of her own car, and driven back to Gaza”, according to her mother Mandy Damari, and her current condition is unclear.
“I will not believe Emily is free until I see her,” Mandy Damari said on Friday night in Israel.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said four other living hostages are to be released in seven days. As part of the ceasefire deal, Israeli forces are to withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza, and displaced Palestinians will be allowed to begin returning to their homes while hundreds of humanitarian aid trucks will be allowed into the territory each day.
