On World Lung Day, Israeli groups highlight plight of hostages who ‘lack even air’

The Israel Society of Pulmonology and the Israel Medical Association marked World Lung Day on Wednesday by seeking to highlight the plight of the hostages held in tunnels under Gaza who “lack even air and the right to breathe.”

In an open letter, the Israeli medical groups thanked the American Thoracic Society (ATS) for their clear and strong statement following the October 7 massacre, during which Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. They also shared their “deep sorrow, surprise, and disappointment” at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) for refusing to take a similar stand despite repeated requests.

The Israeli medical groups urged both organizations that deal with lung diseases to “remember the captives in Gaza who lack the basic necessity of life — air — and to help us do whatever possible to set them free.”

Israel Medical Association spokesperson Pnina Shelav said that every other year for World Lung Day on September 25, the medical groups educate people about lung diseases, including asthma, COPD and lung cancer.

“But this is not a routine year,” said Shalev.

In an interview with The Times of Israel published this week, freed hostage Aviva Siegel recalled the lack of air that captives had to breathe underground.

“We didn’t have oxygen, we were just a couple of hours from dying, we couldn’t breathe,” she said. “We had to lie down and figure out if we’re going to live and just try and concentrate on that.”

Siegel and her husband, Keith, 65, were taken hostage on October 7 from their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Aviva was released after 51 days in Hamas captivity on November 26; Keith, a US citizen, remains in captivity.

Freed hostage Aviva Siegel during an interview to Channel 12, aired February 16, 2024. On Siegel’s shirt is a picture of her husband Keith, still in Hamas captivity. (Screen capture: Channel 12. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law).

It is believed that 97 of the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7 remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF.

Hamas released 105 civilians during a weeklong truce in late November, and four hostages were released before that. Eight hostages have been rescued by troops alive, and the bodies of 37 hostages have also been recovered, including three mistakenly killed by the military as they tried to escape their captors.

Hamas is also holding two Israeli civilians who entered the Strip in 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two IDF soldiers who were killed in 2014.

Jessica Steinberg contributed to this article.