For Israel, the Hamas hostage release leaves more questions than answers

PHOTO: CHAIM GOLDBERG/FLASH90

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esponders and volunteers on 9/11 had to wait nearly ten years after the terror attacks for Congress to formally establish the World Trade Center Health Program at New York’s Mt. Sinai Medical Center, which provides them free medical and mental health treatments.

Professor Hagai Levine, chairman of the Israeli Association of Public Health Physicians, is acutely aware that Israel cannot afford the luxury of time when it comes to treating the traumas of October 7 — especially for the hostages being released under the terms of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. After completing his residency in the IDF Medical Corps, Professor Levine worked at Mt. Sinai and observed and researched the WTC program.

“We cannot wait,” Professor Levine emphasized on a conference call with the foreign press just before Shabbos, two days before the first three hostages — Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 — returned safely to Israeli soil.

Professor Levine urged the Israeli government to immediately establish and fund a rehabilitation center that would care for the hostages and their families — a process he deems necessary to assist them for the rest of their lives.

“Right now, we will focus on their immediate needs,” Professor Levine said, regarding the specialized medical treatment they will receive upon their return to Israel. “They were dehumanized by Hamas. We will strive to restore their humanity, but the process has also been very disruptive to the families.”

Dr. Einat Yehene, a senior rehabilitation psychologist at the Hostages Families Forum, interviewed abductees freed during last November’s ceasefire after only a few weeks in captivity. She told reporters that more extended periods of hospitalization and rehabilitation will be necessary now for hostages held captive for well over a year.

Some will need surgery; others will need physical therapy. All will require some form of cognitive retraining to regain essential life skills, improve their memory, and enhance their concentration. Many will need speech therapy, she added, as they lacked anyone to talk to during their captivity in Gaza.

As for their families, even post-release, the initial euphoria they experience when doctors allow them to bring their loved ones home will quickly give way to a harsh reality. Fears and challenges arise as families are thrust into the role of caregivers, for which almost none are trained or prepared.

“[The last time,] some family members were afraid to go home with their loved ones because they feared unexpected behaviors that could surface, such as nightmares or traumatic and emotional symptoms, which can be the most distressing to manage, and they will need constant guidance,” Dr. Yehene explained, adding: “While not to draw comparisons, the public is also dealing with trauma.”

This applies to families whose sons were killed or injured in battle. It pertains to tens of thousands of Jews who fled their homes on the Lebanese and Gaza borders due to incessant bombing attacks. It consists of average citizens and the sleepless nights they suffered after racing back and forth to bomb shelters and safe rooms.

“The combination of multiple traumatic events and the way they’ve become intertwined is incredibly complex,” Dr. Yehene said.

More Questions than Answers

Many Israelis are suffering from the political trauma stemming from the hostage exchange deal. As always, there are more questions than answers at the beginning of such a process.

While everyone with a beating heart will celebrate the release of the hostages and shed tears during the family reunions, Israel has agreed to a lopsided deal for which it is paying a heavy price.

During an initial 42-day period, Israel will receive only 33 of 98 hostages with no guarantees that they are all alive or that the others will come home. In exchange, Israel will free around 1,700 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom have blood on their hands and hatred in their hearts. How many will return to lives of terror? Based on past precedent, Israel is taking a considerable risk.

Prime Minister Netanyahu insists that both former President Biden and President Trump agreed that if Hamas violates the ceasefire terms in the next six weeks, Israel can resume its attacks. However, President Trump disclosed to NBC News that while he told Bibi, “Do what you have to do,” he also demanded that Netanyahu and Hamas honor the ceasefire.

Many of President Trump’s supporters, including about 80 to 90 percent of the chareidi world, are feeling jilted and are questioning whether their trust in Trump has been misplaced. When he claimed there would be a heavy price to pay if the hostages weren’t released before his inauguration, most took that to mean Hamas would be the ones to burn.

It’s been widely reported that Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, pressured Israel to make the concessions that facilitated the deal. What did they promise in return, if anything? One report in Israel Hayom suggested Witkoff may station himself in the region to supervise the implementation of the ceasefire and perhaps look into options for relocating Gazan Arabs elsewhere. Indonesia was mentioned as one venue. How realistic is this?

Will Trump release all the weaponry that the Biden administration withheld from Israel? Are there plans to confront Iran militarily early in the Trump administration that might have influenced Israel to sign a ceasefire?

There’s much talk that Israel’s concessions in Gaza will induce Saudi Arabia to make peace with Israel, but is an Israeli-Saudi compact still a significant factor in ending Arab hostility to Israel? How relevant is that, considering that Turkey is now vying for the leadership of the Islamic world while flexing its military muscles to coopt Syria as a proxy on Israel’s borders?

Whatever the Saudis demand from Israel will come as part of a larger package, including American security guarantees and support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious economic modernization. If Israel must withdraw from Gaza to appease the Saudis, what are the chances the Trump administration will greenlight Israel’s annexation of Judea and Samaria? If the status quo of Oslo remains, and Israel reverts to a purely defensive posture, how can it stamp out the terrorist threat in its biblical heartland that turns more lethal with each passing day?

Many of these are long-standing geopolitical issues that predate October 7 by decades. Regarding the pressing matters surrounding the ceasefire, some seasoned observers suggest we may have answers to some of these riddles in the first week of February, when the second phase of the ceasefire takes effect and negotiations resume over the remaining hostages. If they come home, does this bring the war to an end before Israel achieves its goal of crushing Hamas and making sure they never rule Gaza again? And how does this impact Israel’s war with Hezbollah?

There are too many questions and too few answers.

We are at the peak of the trauma that has preoccupied Israelis and other Jews worldwide since October 7, 2023. The emotions of the moment can cloud the sound judgment of the most experienced pundits. Anyone who expects his prediction to last longer than it takes for the ink on it to dry risks fooling himself and others.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1046)