‘Critical condition’ – Israeli hostages may have lost half of their weight, experts warn

Israeli captives still held in the Gaza Strip likely have suffered severe starvation for over a year and are at high risk for malnutrition and freezing as winter approaches, experts warn.

By World Israel News Staff

Dozens of Israeli hostages still being held hostage by terrorists in the Gaza Strip have likely lost roughly half of their body weight over the past thirteen months and are at increasing risk of malnutrition and frostbite as winter approaches, experts warned in a report Wednesday.

On Wednesday night, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum’s health team, headed by epidemiologist and former chairman of Israel’s Association of Public Health Physicians Dr. Hagai Levine, released a report regarding the conditions of the surviving Israeli captives held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

Of the 101 captives still in Gaza, Israeli intelligence suggests that 50 are most likely dead, with 51 believed to be still alive.

In its report Wednesday, the Health Team of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said that given the duration and conditions the captives have been held in since October 7th, 2023, they have likely lost a significant amount of body mass, potentially as much as half of their pre-invasion weight.

As a consequence of their long-term nutritional deficiencies, the report warns, the surviving hostages are likely suffering from “dangerously low muscle” mass levels, and are now “highly vulnerable to hypothermia, frostbite, and respiratory infections,” leaving them at elevated risk for a plethora of maladies in the upcoming winter season.

The Health Team also wrote that the hostages are likely suffering from severe mental health issues, including “despair and suicidal thoughts,” fueled by “psychological trauma from isolation, violence, and lack of family contact.”

“The captives are in critical condition,” tweeted Dr. Levine Wednesday night, calling the new report “hair-raising.”

“Those who have survived are in immediate danger of death due to many threats.”