‘Israeli hostages are in grave mortal danger,’ warns Herzog

Israel’s president hosts emergency discussion on the medical condition of the hostages amid fears their weakening condition could leave them vulnerable to infection, hypothermia, or starvation during the upcoming winter season.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli President Isaac Herzog hosted medical experts and relatives of Israeli captives held hostage in the Gaza Strip at an emergency meeting in the president’s residence in Jerusalem on Tuesday to address concerns over the hostages’ physical condition.

The event marked 431 days since Hamas terrorists took the captives in the Gaza Strip, coinciding with International Human Rights Day.

“We are marking 431 days of the most unimaginable violations of human rights,” Herzog said. “Today, on International Human Rights Day, not a single right has been upheld by the criminal and terrorist organization Hamas.”

“The entire world must cry out with all its might against this heinous organization and its flagrant violations of human rights, as we’ve clearly heard in the past hour,” he said.

During the meeting Tuesday, health officials voiced their concerns over the condition of the remaining hostages and provided the president with a report outlining estimates on the captives’ medical status, along with the risks they face in extended captivity.

“Based on the report presented here, on various sources of information before me, and on the data I continuously receive, it is palpably clear that the hostages are in grave mortal danger,” Herzog warned. “Everything must be done, by all possible means, to bring them home.

“Throughout the year, we have explored every avenue to enhance and provide medical aid to those held in the tunnels of Gaza. We engaged countless times with the Red Cross and other entities, attempting to deliver medications and prescriptions, facilitating meetings between the Red Cross and hostage families, and sharing information. But all efforts hit a wall—the wall of Hamas, which prevented any aid from getting through.”

The president expressed optimism that a hostage deal can be reached, noting “renewed” attempts to reach an agreement amid a “global convergence” on the matter.

“There is now a significant renewed effort underway. I sincerely thank outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump. Their actions have brought about meaningful change,” he said. “These efforts must advance as quickly as possible. Silence is often golden, but the effort itself is critically important. Personally, I engage in discussions with global leaders daily on this very issue.”

Last month, 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 in the Gaza Strip.

According to the report, the captives have likely lost a significant amount of body mass, possibly as much as half of their pre-invasion weight, given the duration and conditions they have been under since October 7, 2023.

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.