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Hostages Released by Hamas Suffered Severe Weight Loss in Captivity, Preliminary Health Reports Show
Hostages who were abducted by Hamas terrorists during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel are handed over by Hamas terrorists to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as part of a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel amid a temporary truce, in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, in this screengrab taken from video released Nov. 27, 2023. Photo: Hamas Military Wing/Handout via REUTERS
The hostages released by Hamas over the past four days as part of a temporary ceasefire with Israel suffered severe weight loss during their captivity in Gaza, according to preliminary health reports.
Israel’s Health Ministry found that initial assessments showed the hostages, seized by Hamas during the Palestinian terror group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, lost an average of 17-33 pounds in seven weeks, Hebrew media outlets reported.
News of the initial assessments came as the first testimonies from the released captives and their families revealed the hostages’ diet was minimal, consisting mainly of bread, rice, and in some cases canned food.
The weight loss was especially striking given that many of the hostages who were released and received medical assessments — all women and children — were little kids, including toddlers, and the elderly in their 70s and 80s.
One of the hostages, 84-year-old Elma Avraham, has been hospitalized in serious condition since her release on Sunday. The hospital said on Tuesday that her condition had improved.
The now-former captives have reported that alongside the poor diet and lack of medication, some were forced to sleep on plastic chairs in small rooms guarded by heavily-armed terrorists. Child hostages were also subjected to threats and psychological abuse, according to relatives. In one case, a 12-year-old boy was beaten by Palestinian civilians, his aunt said.
Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas kidnapped over 240 people as hostages and brought them back to Gaza during their Oct. 7 onslaught, in which they murdered more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Israel responded with a military campaign of air strikes and ground operations seeking to destroy Hamas in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave ruled by the terror group.
Since the truce between both sides started on Friday, Hamas has released 69 hostages — 50 Israeli women and children, as well as 19 foreigners, mainly Thai farmworkers. In return, Israel has released 150 prisoners from its jails, all women and teenagers, detained for violent crimes or terrorism.
The four-day ceasefire in Gaza, initially set to expire on Monday, has been extended by at least two extra days to allow for the release of more hostages.
Israel has decried clips of Israeli hostages waving goodbye to Hamas terrorists during their release as propaganda, urging the public not to buy the forced act.
Hamas-affiliated media on Monday released a letter supposedly written by Danielle Aloni, an Israeli mom freed from captivity, praising the terrorists for their “extraordinary humanity” towards her 5-year-old daughter, Emilia. Relatives warned the public not to believe the letter, similarly dismissing it as propaganda.
While most reports have focused on the hostages’ physical health, it is unclear how captivity will impact their mental health after experiencing such trauma.
The post Hostages Released by Hamas Suffered Severe Weight Loss in Captivity, Preliminary Health Reports Show first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel ‘Concerned’ with Russia’s Violation of Estonian Airspace as Tallin Requests NATO Article 4 Consultation
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
i24 News – Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Saturday that Jerusalem was “concerned” with the violation of Estonian airspace by Russian jets.
This comes after three Russian military jets violated NATO member Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes on Friday in what its government branded an “unprecedentedly brazen” incursion. It is the latest in a series of recent military actions by Russia that have rattled the alliance.
Earlier this month Poland shot down Russian drones in its airspace with the backing of aircraft from its NATO allies.
Tallin meanwhile decided to request NATO Article 4 consultations over the violation, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Friday. Article 4 stipulates that members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will consult together whenever, in the view of any of them, the territory, political independence or security of any of them comes under threat.
US President Donald Trump made it clear he was not pleased with the situation.
“I don’t love it. I don’t like when that happens. Could be big trouble,” Trump told reporters.
NATO polices the airspace of Estonia and other Baltic nations in its “Baltic Sentry” mission.
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Pezeshkian Says Iran Can Overcome Any Return of Sanctions
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit 2025, in Tianjin, China, September 1, 2025. Iran’s Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed on Saturday that Iran would overcome any reimposition of sanctions on it through a so-called “snapback” process, after the U.N. Security Council voted not to permanently lift sanctions on Tehran.
“Through the ‘snapback’ they block the road, but it is the brains and the thoughts that open or build the road,” Pezeshkian said in remarks carried by state television.
“They cannot stop us. They can strike our Natanz or Fordow (nuclear installations attacked by the US and Israel in June), But they are unaware that it is humans who built and will rebuild Natanz,” Pezeshkian said.
The Security Council move came on Friday after Britain, France and Germany launched a 30-day process last month to reimpose sanctions, accusing Tehran of failing to abide by a 2015 deal with world powers aimed at preventing it from developing a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies having any such intention.
“We will never surrender in the face of excessive demands because we have the power to change the situation,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying by state media.
The “snapback” process would reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran unless an agreement is reached on a delay between Tehran and key European powers within about a week.
The snapback would reimpose an arms embargo, a ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing, a ban on activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, a global asset freeze and travel bans on Iranian individuals and entities.
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US Seeks Congressional Approval to Sell $6 Billion in Arms to Israel
The U.S. Capitol building is seen in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/Files
i24 News – The US administration of President Donald Trump is seeking congressional approval for a weapons deal with Israel to the tune of some $6 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
While the proposed deal was first sent to congressional leaders before Israel’s controversial strike in Doha—targeting the leadership of Hamas, the jihadist Palestinian group with which Israel is at war—it is understood the incident had no effect on the administration’s willingness to push the sale through the legislature.
The proposed sales include a $3.8 billion deal for 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters and a $1.9 billion deal for 3,250 infantry assault vehicles, the report said, citing official documents.
The arms would be paid for by US-provided foreign military financing, according to the documents.
Presently, the administration is seeking the approval of the four top Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, it is understood.
The leaders of the two panels usually must sign off on major foreign weapons deals before the administration sends wider notification to Congress and the public.