Freed Israeli hostage to leave hospital after five months
Five months after being freed from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, Elma Avraham is set to be released from hospital, Beersheva’s Soroka Medical Center announced on Tuesday.
Avraham, who celebrated her 85th birthday during her hospitalization, will go home on Wednesday following a press conference that will include statements by family representatives and medical staff.
Avraham, who has complex health issues, was taken hostage from Kibbutz Nahal Oz on Oct. 7. Although in generally good health when kidnapped, she deteriorated in captivity.
Released on Nov. 26 as part of a weeklong ceasefire deal with Hamas, Avraham was airlifted to Soroka in serious condition with a pulse of 40 and a body temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit.
“They held her in terrible conditions,” daughter Tali Amano told reporters outside the hospital at the time, noting that her mother was released from Gaza mere “hours before we would have lost her.”
“My mother didn’t need to return this way and I have no idea how she will make it through these days,” added Amano.
Following Avraham’s release, the Red Cross was accused of keeping medicine from her. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari charged that “she was denied life-saving medications. She was not visited by the Red Cross.”
An estimated 132 hostages remain in the Gaza Strip, 129 of whom were among the 252 kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7. The Israeli military has confirmed the deaths of 34 of the 129.
JNS
