Israeli hostages have spent 100 days in hell, getting them back is paramount

An Israeli woman carries an Israeli flag as she passes in front of a graffity calling for the release of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, on November 12, 2023

Exactly 100 days ago, our dear ones were kidnapped and turned into captives. They are in hell. Along with them, their families were abducted and placed in the twilight zone. We all share one human core, and so we are all abducted.

I had the privilege of leading a dedicated team of volunteers, working from the very beginning to defend the health of the captives and their families. This week, we published a severe report on the health risks to the captives, including 38 specific cases that families requested be disclosed.

Hostages’ health risks

I signed a statement readily available to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Based on medical information and testimonies from survivors, we described the threatening health risks to the captives: hunger and inadequate nutrition, lack of clean drinking water and air, poor hygiene, darkness, isolation, and lack of movement, in cages like animals without suitable clothing or blankets to cope with the winter cold.

The captives are monitored all the time, with no privacy. Both male and female captives suffer physical, mental, and sexual abuse. Their diseases and injuries are neglected and not treated properly.

They were stripped of their glasses, hearing aids, and essential equipment for day-to-day function. All of them are in immediate danger. They all need to be released – now! Captives have a basic right to receive medical treatment and medications.

THE CLOCK ticks in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, this past Sunday. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

THE CLOCK ticks in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, this past Sunday. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

The fact that the Red Cross has not yet visited them is a disgrace to humanity. We hope they will receive medications this week, but we must not settle for that. They have many other health needs.

If there are pregnant captives, they need immediate treatment, now. Only their immediate release will ensure their lives and health. Boaz, the son of Arie Zalmanovitch, abducted from Nir Oz, said: “Dad did not receive the medications and food he needs. It’s murder!”

We must not reach a situation where 136 captives return in coffins.

Israel mustn’t abandon hostages 

In the book of Deuteronomy, it is written: “Choose life so that you and your descendants may live.” Maimonides, a physician, wrote: “There is no greater mitzvah than redeeming captives.” In the Shulchan Aruch, it is written: “Every moment that one delays unnecessarily the ransoming of a captive, it is as if he were to shed blood.”

In the oath of the medical profession, we swore not to abandon the wounded on the battlefield. As a doctor, as a Jew, as an Israeli, and as a human, I was educated on the sanctity of life. The captives were abandoned on October 7.

It is forbidden, forbidden, forbidden to abandon them again. Anyone who does not act with all their might to save the hostages and certainly anyone who hesitates or postpones an opportunity to save the hostages forgets what it means to be Israeli, forgets what it means to be Jewish, forgets what it means to be human.

The lives of the hostages are not just the problem of their families. The lives of the hostages are not just the problem of Israel. The violation of their freedom, health, and lives is an open wound.

As long as they are hostages, Israel cannot heal and recover. As long as they are hostages, there is a danger to security and stability in the world. As long as they are hostages, bloodshed will continue.

As a human seeking life and for the sake of preserving our existence, the return of the hostages must be the top priority. They have no time. Each of us must see ourselves as if we were kidnapped to Gaza, as if our family member was kidnapped to Gaza.

It is our duty to act to save them in every possible way. Our hope is not lost. Together, we will bring all the captives home in peace.

Prof. Hagai Levine is Head of Medicine in the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the Chairman of the Public Health Physicians Association.