Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy recreated their reunion photo to mark the occasion.
JNS Staff
(JNS)
Five Israel Defense Forces female surveillance soldiers have completed the intensive stage of their rehabilitation, six months after their release from Hamas captivity in Gaza, Rabin Medical Center’s Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah said on Wednesday.
The hospital said that the next stage of treatment will see the women undergo periodic check-ups in a long step-by-step journey of healing and support, so they can rebuild their lives.
“The five surveillance soldiers have returned to the Returning Unit, which symbolizes for them the transition from captivity to freedom. Their rehabilitation, and ours as a nation, will not be complete until all 50 hostages return,” said Professor Noa Eliakim-Raz, who heads the department that receives former hostages at Beilinson.
To mark the occasion, Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa and Naama Levy recreated their reunion photo from the day of Berger’s return from Gaza. The other four women were redeemed on Jan. 25, 2025, as part of a hostage-prisoner swap agreement, while Berger was freed five days later.
All five were kidnapped while on duty during the Hamas-led cross-border attack on the northwestern Negev on Oct. 7, 2023.
During their first check-up day, the quintet was examined by a physician, and underwent blood tests and comprehensive assessments in the fields of physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nutritional evaluation and imaging as needed, Beilinson Hospital said.
The former hostages’ rehabilitation process may continue for months or even years.
Each woman will undergo periodic check-ups in which her physical and mental condition will be assessed, and the treatment plans updated accordingly. In this way, the hospital hopes to create a unique continuum of care tailored to the complex experiences the soldiers went through in captivity, Maariv reported.
Having survived 477 days in captivity, Albag took to social media shortly after her release, thanking the people of Israel for their outpour of support.
“Together, we are a force,” the IDF field observer wrote. “I want to thank the soldiers of the IDF and the security services, who risked their lives and fought for us and for our country! Not a morning passes that I don’t pray for their welfare.”
Addressing the families of slain troops and civilians, Albag said she felt their pain. “Thanks to the heroes who fell during battle, my nightmare is over. I was finally reunited with my family!”
In May, Berger told French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during a meeting in Paris that Israel has no choice but to fight the terrorists in Gaza.
“As soon as there is a war of survival over our land, that’s what we will do. They don’t want [to live] together” with us, said Berger, referring to Hamas. “Diplomatic solutions won’t work because it’s either us or them,” she added.
Image: IDF soldier Agam Berger reunites with her family at Beilinson Hospital/Rabin Medical Center in Petach Tikvah after 482 days’ captivity in the Gaza Strip, Jan. 30, 2025. Photo by Haim Zach/GPO.
