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Hugs, slinkies and trauma care: How the Israeli health system will treat the released hostages
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli health, military and government officials have been preparing for what a release of hostages from Gaza would look like since Oct. 7. But on Friday, as the first round of hostages were released at the start of a ceasefire brokered with Hamas, some admitted just how difficult that preparation has been.
“We had to write these guidelines without any theoretical or practical knowledge in the world of a situation where children are being held captive by a terrorist organization,” said Sarit Sarfatti, a government official who works with child protection social workers at a briefing for journalists.
Many of the hostages have experienced severe trauma, including witnessing the murder of family members. They were shuttled Friday evening Israel time from Gaza into Egypt, and from there were expected to be moved to several designated hospitals throughout Israel.
There, they will be received by teams that include pediatricians, gynecologists, forensic medicine experts and legal medicine specialists, focusing on the specific needs of women and children. No adult men were expected to be released on Friday.
In parallel, the Israel’s welfare ministry has selected 60 social workers with expertise in child trauma and at least one social worker will also be designated to each family.
Sarfatti described a three-phase care plan for the hostages. Initially, the focus is on their return to Israel. The second phase involves acute care, at least a month-long, tailored to each individual’s specific medical and psychological needs. The final stage, which could extend over a year or “much, much longer,” she said, focuses on long-term care, factoring in personal circumstances, such as the murder of family members.
“We do have a lot of therapeutic models that deal with trauma intervention,” she said. “We have a lot of faith and hope for their healing.”
Dr. Hagai Levine, who is also involved in the process, said the situation will differ from hostage to hostage. “For one it’s a hug from his mother, for another it might be urgent heart repair.”
The Israel Defense Forces showed reporters a range of items that will be distributed to the returned hostages, from neon-colored slinkies to noise-canceling headphones. Levine explained that simple items like a pair of shoes or glasses could make a significant difference in improving the condition of the hostages.
“They were dehumanized, treated as mere objects by Hamas,” he said, noting that many of them were barefoot when they were abducted.
Levine also said he had met with hostages who had previously been released, including Yocheved Lifshitz. She “complained about the light,” he said, adding that it could “take a long time to get used to again,” and comparing the experience to being a newborn.
Overall, Lifshitz has demonstrated “an impressive resilience and ability to recover,” he said, but was quick to add that he “would not make a medical judgment” about her current welfare, especially given that her husband is still being held in Gaza.
Forensic examinations to determine if the hostages — especially the younger ones, who may not be able to communicate their experiences — went through torture, sexual violence or other forms of abuse may yield inconclusive results, Levine said, as too much time has elapsed since the events would have occurred. “We may never know,” he admitted.
According to Sarfatti, after a month of close care in the hostage facilities at the hospitals, medical professionals will evaluate whether they can be released back into the community. The social workers assigned to their case will continue guiding the rehabilitation process, which will include therapeutic, medical and educational needs.
“Some of them don’t know that their community has been almost entirely annihilated, and we will have to break the news to them very soon,” she said. “This is something that cannot be delayed.”
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The post Hugs, slinkies and trauma care: How the Israeli health system will treat the released hostages appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.