Israel preparing to receive eight hostages
Israel geared up to receive eight hostages on Thursday, with hospitals placed on standby and authorities preparing to release dozens of imprisoned Palestinian terrorists.
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A military helicopter landed at Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva and brought wounded IDF soldiers from heavy fighting in the Gaza Strip. Petah Tikva, Nov 17, 2024. Photo by Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL
Due to leave Gaza after 482 days of captivity are 80-year-old Gadi Arbel, 29-year-old Arbel Yehud, 21-year-old soldier Agam Berger, and five Thai nationals.
The Health Ministry has prepared detailed medical protocols for receiving hostages.
The Israeli hostages will be taken to different hospitals depending on the results of their initial medical checkups at a location near Kibbutz Re’im where they will also reunite with their families. Any returnees needing urgent medical care will be airlifted to one of several hospitals in central Israel.
Moses was abducted from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz while his partner, Efrat Katz, was murdered. An agronomist with expertise in field crops and wastewater management, his last sign of life was a Hamas propaganda video in December 2023.
Arbel was abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz and held captive by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. She was taken captive along with her partner, Ariel Cunio who is still in Gaza.
Israel had delayed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza after reneging on a commitment to make Arbel one of four women released on Saturday. Hamas released four soldiers.
Berger was among seven female soldiers abducted from the army’s Nahal Oz outpost during Hamas’s October 7 attack.
The Thais, all agricultural workers, will be taken to the Shamir Medical Center in Be’er Yaakov. A designated complex within the hospital was established with support from the army, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Thai Embassy. To accommodate the cultural and health needs of the returnees, interpreters were brought in, special meals like rice and vegetables are provided, and a dedicated Buddhist prayer area was set up.
The facility includes private bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a recreation room, and a balcony. Medical teams, including doctors, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, are available as needed. “We want them to feel at home after their difficult time in Hamas captivity,” the hospital said.
In December, a Health Ministry report detailed severe physical and psychological abuse suffered by hostages freed during a November 2023 temporary ceasefire.
The report — the first comprehensive account of hostages’ experiences — found that the captives, including children, were subjected to extreme conditions, including sexual assaults, prolonged periods in darkness, physical beatings, and starvation. Many were bound hand and foot and deprived of adequate food and water. Several were burned or branded with heated metal.
Medical care was either withheld or administered without pain relief, resulting in excruciating suffering during procedures, including surgeries, the report found. Hostages were also denied basic hygiene and often forced to soil themselves due to prolonged waits for toilet access.
The Prison Service is also preparing to release dozens of Palestinian terrorists. They have been brought to the Ofer Prison north of Jerusalem and the K’tziot Prison in the Negev where Red Cross representatives will identify each one. After the hostages are freed, the Red Cross will take the prisoners to release points in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem. Prisoners sent to Gaza will be released at the Kerem Shalom crossing.
The first phase of the ceasefire is supposed to see a total of 33 Israeli hostages freed over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel. The exact number will depend on how many are alive. Seven hostages have already been released.
The fate of the remaining 65 captives will be determined by negotiations to begin on the 16th day of the ceasefire. Critics say the phased approach condemns hostages not freed in the beginning to open-ended captivity and undermines Israel’s war gains.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 89 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead.