The four female IDF observers set to be released in the second week of the first phase of the hostage deal are expected to arrive at Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Hospital via a CH-53 "Yasur" helicopter on Saturday - after their families greet them at one of the border crossings.
Upon arriving, and after reuniting with their families, the hostages will also be accompanied by female personnel from the IDF Medical Corps - a deliberate choice. Both the IDF and Beilinson Hospital emphasized that most of the staff surrounding the released women for the duration of their care will be female.
This decision was made based on insights from previous debriefings with released hostages who reported that an environment with mostly women made their initial recovery easier after enduring captivity by Hamas terrorists.
The released women will be offered a cup of tea with a teaspoon of sugar, three biscuits, and applesauce at the crossing. The modest snack was decided on as a preventative measure against a potentially deadly refeeding syndrome - which could otherwise be triggered by initially raising blood sugar levels.
The hostages will be offered a shower and a fresh change of comfortable new clothes before boarding another Yasur helicopter with their families for a 40-kilometer flight to Beilinson Hospital.
The helipad is located on a parallel street to Schneider Children's Hospital, near Beilinson, where a new rehabilitation wing has been built. The new wing includes 21 spacious rooms with a warm and soothing environment.
From the spacious lobby of the complex, families will be able to watch the helicopter landing that brings their loved ones just steps away from the hospital.
The rooms are equipped with soft clothing, plush bedding, blankets, slippers, a mini-fridge, potted plants, recovery teddy bears, and mobile phone chargers.
Private dining tables will allow the released hostages to share meals with family members. Additional services such as beauty treatments, manicures, pedicures, and complementary medicine will also be offered.
Next to each hostage's living quarters will be a room for their family to stay in, allowing the released hostages a sense of closeness and support.
The hostages will receive a menu customized to their nutritional needs. The food, prepared by chefs and nutritionists, features flavourful food with health values that will restore the body's strength.
Each hostage will be accompanied by a dedicated medical team – a doctor, a nurse, a social worker, and a mental health worker from the nearby Geha Mental Health Center, who will provide a complete therapeutic package. The team will accompany them throughout the entire process, along with treatments such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and dentistry.
First round hostages to be discharged
As Israel anticipates the return of four more hostages on Saturday, the hostages released last week, Emily Damari, Doron Steinbracher, and Romi Gonen, are expected to be discharged to their homes.
The hostages released in the first deal will continue to receive close medical and emotional support while being surrounded by their families and multi-professional teams.
The three women landed at Sheba Medical Center last Sunday and were hospitalized at the Children's Hospital in Tel Hashomer, where a hostage department was established.
Each was given a private room with an additional bed for an accompanying person and another room for the accompanying family. Maximum privacy was ensured at the hospital, and strangers and media personnel were not allowed to enter the hospitalization wing.
In the first few hours, the three underwent intensive medical examinations and, after it was clarified that their medical condition was relatively stable and normal, the emotional treatment process that would accompany them in the coming months and years began, slowly and gradually, with maximum sensitivity to their wishes and needs.
Emily Damari had two of her fingers amputated and is undergoing tests and assessments by the team of the Hand Surgery Department at Sheba, which is considered a leader in the field in Israel.
Psychological treatment includes individual conversations with psychologists and psychiatrists, in addition to the occasional use of advanced techniques such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or EMDR to process trauma.
Other therapies made available to them include art and movement therapy.