Nick Schifrin:
The released hostages are confronted with immense psychological and sometimes physical trauma.
Earlier today I spoke with Professor Hagai Levine, head of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s medical and resilience team, part of the team that meets the hostages who are free.
Professor, let me first ask: how are you?
Hagai Levine, Hostages and Missing Families Forum: We know that of some of the hostages released today, two women have already arrived here. Some of them spoke to their families.
And I know from one of the families that the grandmother sounds good on the phone. And we’ve seen some pictures of them walking, which is encouraging. However, the recovery process will be lengthy. Not only do you need mental and physical support, but you also need to be evaluated to rule out specific medical problems.
We know – I know the medical profile of some of them. I know they have serious chronic illnesses that probably haven’t been treated properly. So they still need to be examined, and at the same time, over 200 innocent people are still being held by Hamas and are not receiving the appropriate medical and psychological care for their recovery.
Tonight we really hope that they will all either be released this week or at least receive a visit from the Red Cross for evaluation and treatment.