Freed hostage Romi Gonen will need to undergo an initial 10-hour surgery to help her recover from starvation, her mother said Monday.
“We know there is a very long initial surgery, about 10 hours,” Meirav Leshem Gonen told Anat Davidov and Udi Segal on 103FM. “We hope there won’t be more surgeries, but there’s no way to know.”
She also revealed new details about the terror group’s starvation tactics and Romi’s recovery process. She highlighted the severe physical toll on the released IDF observers, saying, “The girls did not return in good condition; losing 20% of their weight is not okay.”
She further emphasized the importance of public pressure on the government.
“One of the tasks we all need to undertake is to see both sides of the coin and work seriously to recognize the risks and possible outcomes [of delaying the deal.] The people must pressure the government to take care of populations that will be affected by the agreement.
“All the returned hostages are alive, but the fact remains that there are people still there who must be brought back. There are people we are committed to as a nation.”
Romi's health and Hamas starvation
Earlier this week, Leshem Gonen shared that Romi’s appetite finally returned after three weeks of recovery.
“For the first time, I gave her [pasta] bolognese because I wanted her to enjoy it, and she was finally able to. And we’re talking about three weeks since her release,” she said.
Her remarks came following the release of Or Levy, Eli Sharabi, and Ohad Ben Ami from Hamas captivity on Saturday in dire condition.
“It was shocking, it was horrifying,” she was cited as saying. “It’s not that we didn’t expect it because we saw how the girls came out too, and they had also lost an extreme amount of weight,” she added. “But I think this is an escalation, and as time goes on, we will see even more severe cases.”