Israeli Health Ministry publishes medical protocols for returning hostages

Israel’s Health Ministry on Thursday released a detailed medical protocol for receiving hostages freed from Hamas captivity as the ceasefire agreement itself remained uncertain.

The ceasefire, if approved, would take effect on Sunday. Thirty-three hostages — women, children, the elderly and the sick — would be freed in exchange for Palestinian terrorists imprisoned in Israel.

The ministry’s plan outlines the stages of care, treatment, and long-term support to address the needs of the returnees.

The Ichilov, Beilinson, Sheba, Assaf Harofeh hospitals in central Israel and the Barzilai and Soroka hospitals in the south were selected for their proximity to Gaza and in the south. While the ministry recommends a minimum hospitalization period of four days, the final decision will rest with the returnees and their families.

Each returned hostage will be cared for in specialized “Returnee Wings” with private rooms for the hostages and their families. Military representatives will have designated spaces within these wings. Separate general areas for larger gatherings will be established to avoid overcrowding in the main corridors.

The ministry’s plan includes a long-term support framework for each returnee, led by a team of primary care physicians, nurses, specialists, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians, and forensic physicians. Together, they will devise personalized treatment plans.

Social workers and mental health professionals will assess psychological needs with an eye toward reintegrating the returnees into normal life. Forensic physicians will collect and document medical-legal evidence related to the captivity.

Outpatient clinics will be established to provide continuous medical and emotional support after the returnees are discharged.

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.

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 95 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.