Eitan Horn, a man in his late thirties freed from captivity, suffered a drastic loss of nearly half his body weight. His sister-in-law, Dalia Cusnir, shared that his captors once forced him to trek for approximately 12 hours through the labyrinthine tunnels under Gaza during a transfer.
Meanwhile, the spouse of another survivor, Elkana Bohbot, disclosed in a video that he returned battling intense stomach pain. This was attributed to his captors’ attempt to “fatten him up” just prior to his release, following an extended period of severe food deprivation.
Friends of Yosef-Chaim Ohana, another freed hostage, told Israeli television that his two years in isolation had been so complete that he was entirely unaware of the existence of ChatGPT.
Upon the release of the final 20 surviving hostages by Hamas on Monday, their families, alongside countless Israelis, anxiously awaited news of their condition. These captives had endured profound isolation, meager sustenance, and often remained shackled in the grim, subterranean tunnels of Gaza.
Jubilant crowds gathered in Kfar Saba on Thursday to welcome Mr. Horn back home.
All had been captured, alongside many others, during the brutal Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, an event that ignited the two-year, devastating conflict within the Palestinian territory.
Their release, a week ago, was part of a cease-fire agreement, exchanging them for nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees and prisoners held by Israel, a number of whom were serving life sentences for lethal assaults against Israelis.
Throughout the past year, some of these captives were forced to appear in harrowing videos, looking gaunt, deeply distressed, and desperately pleading for their lives.
The initial glimpses of the former hostages brought a measure of relief; though thin and pale, all were able to walk unassisted.
Professor Itai Pessach, vice president of Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv and founder of its specialized hostage medical team, commented on the condition of the 10 former hostages recovering at the hospital. He stated in a video that “Every one of them has endured untold adversity and horrors.”
Yosef-Chaim Ohana was seen arriving at Sheba Medical Center, near Tel Aviv, following his release on Monday.
While all hostages admitted to Sheba arrived in stable condition, Professor Pessach cautioned that “they will probably need weeks, months, and even years to heal.” He added, “Now they are home, and now the healing begins.”
Following thorough medical examinations and initial care for their physical and psychological well-being, Nimrod Cohen and Mr. Horn were discharged on Thursday from Ichilov Hospital (Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center). Throngs of well-wishers gathered outside their homes to welcome them.
Mr. Horn, among the elder hostages freed this week, returned to his home in Kfar Saba, central Israel. His arrival came shortly after the burial of Tamir Nimrodi, another former captive who was taken alive but tragically died during his imprisonment, whose remains were repatriated this week. This juxtaposition highlights the profound emotional rollercoaster many Israelis are currently enduring.
Tamir Nimrodi’s family was seen together during his funeral service in Kfar Saba, Israel, on Thursday.
While medical professionals and family members have largely refrained from disclosing intimate details of the former hostages’ ordeals, respecting their privacy, certain aspects of their time in captivity have started to surface.
Idit Ohel, mother of Alon Ohel, a pianist who was captured while injured trying to escape the Nova music festival, revealed that her son lived for two years with shrapnel embedded in his right eye and head. He is scheduled for surgery, with doctors expressing optimism about a significant improvement in his vision.
Ms. Ohel described her son’s return as utterly exhausted. Yet, soon after his arrival at Beilinson Hospital (Rabin Medical Center) near Tel Aviv, he found the strength to sit and play a piano, breaking “more than 700 days in the silence of the tunnels.”
The mother of Matan Angrest, a freed soldier, shared with reporters at his recuperation hospital that he is in the process of re-learning basic elements of normal life, such as “sitting down to eat with a knife and fork.”
Matan Angrest, one of the surviving hostages, was pictured attending the funeral of his former commander, Captain Daniel Peretz, an Israeli tank commander killed in battle, in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
After prolonged deprivation from natural environments, one group of former hostages was taken to a beach to witness the sunset with their loved ones.
According to relatives, some hostages endured almost the entire two-year period in solitary confinement.
Rom Braslavski, another former captive, was filmed on Thursday expressing a feeling of being “reborn.” When offered a new iPhone 17, he remarked that he wouldn’t even know how to operate it.
Avi Ohana, Yosef-Chaim Ohana’s father, informed reporters that his son had repeatedly convinced his captors not to kill him, asserting that he was a valuable asset and his death would offer them no advantage.
In a social media post, Bar Kupershtein described his time as “a tough period, to put it mildly.” He extended gratitude to all who prayed for him and never lost hope, especially “the Creator, the Father in Heaven.”
“It has taken me some time to adjust,” he reflected, “but the most important thing is that I am here, with my family, my friends, and the people I love.”
Additional reporting by Johnatan Reiss from Tel Aviv.