Released Hostages Suffering Stomach Distress, Doctor Says

Several of the hostages released by Hamas on Friday are suffering from gastroenteritis, according to a doctor who spoke to them. Hagai Levine, the head of the medical team for the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group formed by the families of those abducted on Oct. 7, was speaking at Israel’s Wolfson Medical Center, where five adult hostages were due to be treated.

Based on his experience of treating two elderly Israeli women released last month by Hamas, Levine said the hostages were likely suffering from a lack of Vitamin C and physical exercise after being held in cramped conditions underground for weeks. Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, also struggled to adjust to light, complaining it was too bright, after being released over two weeks after they were abducted.

The hostages’ most serious injury, however, is likely to be psychological, he said. “The mental issue is the main thing,” Levine said. Israeli security services will begin debriefing hostages while they receive treatment to glean information about the condition of others remaining in Gaza.