For second time, Shamir hospital readies to treat Thai hostages ‘like family’
Armed with hard-won experience from first release, central Israel medical center preps rooms and staff amid speculation that 10 foreign nationals could be released in side deal

At least 31 Thai nationals were among the more that 250 people kidnapped from southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Nearly 16 months later, eight of them remain in captivity.
As speculation ramps up over a possible side arrangement that would free the eight and two other foreign nationals, Shamir Medical Center in central Israel is gearing up for the possibility that it may once again be tasked with the challenging but rewarding job of treating them upon their released.
The hospital near Rishon Lezion — one of six medical centers preparing to receive hostages, according to the Health Ministry — was the first stop for 23 Thai nationals and one Filipino who were released by Hamas in late November 2023 as part of a deal brokered by Iran between the Palestinian terror group and Bangkok. It did not receive any Israeli hostages.
“Although it was complicated, we did, objectively speaking, an amazing, amazing job,” recalled Dr. Osnat Levtzion-Korach, the director of the hospital formerly known as Assaf Harofeh.
Levtzion-Korach told The Times of Israel that when the medical center took in the foreign nationals, it “involved a lot of common sense because no one knew what to do.”
This time, they are armed with that experience and will have teams and procedures in place to best help those emerging from Gazan captivity.
“We will be privileged to treat them again,” she said.

There are eight Thai nationals still held in Gaza: Surasak Lamnau, Pingsa Nattapong, Bannawat Seathao, Sathian Suwankam, Sriaoun Watchara, and Pongsak Tanna, as well as Sudthisak Rinthalak and Sonthaya Oakkharasr, both of whom are confirmed dead.
Nepal’s Bipin Joshi and the remains of slain Tanzanian captive Joshua Loitu Mollel are also thought likely to be released alongside the eight Thai hostages.
The Thais are not part of the 33 Israeli hostages expected to be set free during the first stage of a hostage-ceasefire deal agreed to by Israel and Hamas earlier this month.
Seven Israeli women have so far been released under that arrangement, with Jerusalem freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The rest of the hostages are set to be released in later stages of the deal, which have yet to be negotiated.

But recent days have seen reports citing unnamed Israeli officials who say they expect the foreign nationals to be released during the 42 days of the first stage. According to the Haaretz daily, officials have gone as far as telling Shamir to prepare to receive the Thai hostages.
Shamir declined to confirm if it had received such instructions from the Health Ministry. “The Health Ministry updates Shamir. Shamir is on constant alert, and prepared for a moment’s notice of their release,” a hospital spokesperson said.
The Health Ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
On Saturday, a delegation of Thai government officials met with Gal Hirsch, the government’s point person on hostages, Haaretz reported.
The Thais and other foreign nationals are among the 90 hostages still in Gaza, most of whom were abducted on October 7, 2023. The number includes the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead by the IDF.
Tens of thousands of laborers from Southeast Asia were working in Israel when the Hamas attack unfolded, many of them as farmhands in Israel’s agricultural heartland near the Gaza border.

Thai nationals were by far the largest group and the most heavily affected, with at least 32 killed in the massacre, according to Bangkok.
‘A different ball game’
According to Levtzion-Korach, the initial release of the 23 Thai hostages posed a challenge for the hospital, which had never dealt with anything like it, though the Health Ministry provided guidance.
Those hostages were released after 54 days in captivity. This next group of hostages will have been held by Hamas for over 480 days.
“It’s a different ballgame,” she said.

A multidisciplinary team, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, doctors, and nurses, is ready to care for the hostages from the time of their arrival at the hospital until they leave.
Before the last group of hostages arrived at the hospital, the staff had assumed that they would want to be alone, in single rooms. It turned out that they wanted to be together, and the hospital has now arranged for future returnees to be paired up in rooms.
“We need to remember that they each had a unique experience in captivity,” Levtzion-Korach said.

Some of the Thai workers were held in groups, while others were all alone.
“It was loneliness, it was a lot of sadness,” she said.
Since the Thai nationals are in Israel on their own, the hospital staff “becomes their family,” Levtzion-Korach said.

But fulfilling that can be tough without a shared language. In 2023, the hospital staff cared for the Thais by working with translators, mostly from the country’s embassy.
Now, after over a year, some of the hostages have likely picked up Arabic, which should help communications with the hospital’s many Arabic-speaking doctors, nurses and others, Levtzion-Korach reasoned.
The staff has already translated instructions and dietary recommendations — along with staff names — into Thai.
A video of the released Thai hostages at Shamir Medical Center. (Courtesy)
An Israeli translator married to a Thai woman who helped in 2023 plans to pitch in again. Last time, he brought them a Buddha statue and they prayed every day, Levtzion-Korach said.
Cultural proficiency is also key to ensuring the former captives feel comfortable and safe after their ordeal, such as knowing that Thai people do not like to be touched, especially on their heads.
It’s also important to remember thatnlike Israelis, who are being released to their homes, the Thais are in Israel on guest visas and may not feel free to speak their minds.

They are “very, very obedient,” Levtzion-Korach said. “We need to explain to them that they can say no.”
The most important thing for the hospital staff, she said, is to give the former hostages their autonomy, their dignity – and their privacy.
“Everyone wants to know what happened there. Everyone wants to hear the stories,” Levtzion-Korach said.
But the hospital staff won’t be asking, she said. “Whatever the person wants to say and tell and share, they will. Of course, we won’t pass it on, because it’s theirs.”

She recommended that former hostages not talk about their experiences immediately, but rather take time “to feel and relax, and to start learning about the world and then deciding what to do.”
A holistic approach to healing
The staff takes a “holistic approach” to taking care of the hostages, both mentally and physically, Levtzion-Korach said.
Some of the hostages were injured badly during the October 7 attack or afterward and will only be getting proper care now, she noted.
The staff first focuses on malnutrition. Even if a released hostage “looks okay on the outside, not very skinny, the food they got there was limited, probably lacking protein, with mostly carbs,” Levtzion-Korach said.
Hostages rescued by Israel over the last year have described receiving as little as half a pita per day.

“We know that malnutrition by itself can lead to many, many complications, such as infections,” Levtzion-Korach explained. “There can be gastrointestinal issues, diarrhea, and vomiting. The water [in Gaza] is contaminated. We need to remember that the hygiene there is very bad.”
The other factor, she said, is acclimating after “being in the tunnels without air, without exposure to the sun.”
“Coming into the sun after a long time can be very tough on the eyes,” Levtzion-Korach said, noting that hostages will be given sunglasses as soon as possible after being released.

The hospital will also be prepared to deal with respiratory issues that may have affected hostages who spent prolonged bouts in oxygen-deprived tunnels.
The lingering wounds of the ordeal will extend well beyond the physical.
“It isn’t post-traumatic stress disorder,” Levtzion-Korach said. “It’s still trauma.”
The Health Ministry advises a minimum hospital stay of four days for returning hostages. According to Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Health Ministry’s General Medicine Division, some of the previously released hostages eventually regretted leaving earlier than recommended, suggesting extended stays could better support their recovery.

“They’re not in captivity anymore,” Levtzion-Korach said. “But it’s better for them to stay inside the hospital for a while because once they get out, tons of people would like to see them and take their photos.”
The last group of Thai hostages stayed about a week before they all flew back to Thailand.

“You could see, actually, the way they changed during the week,” Levtzion-Korach said. “At first, they were shy, but then they opened up and sang, and we gave them a guitar, and they were sitting together and singing.”
Two of the former hostages who met in Israel, Nutthawaree Munkan and Boonthom Pankhong, got married in a private ceremony in Thailand in March, said Levtzion-Korach.

Levtzion-Korach said that although she feels the hospital is “very well-prepared” for the next group of hostages, mental health care is needed for the nation as a whole.
“We’ve been working so hard since October 7, 2023, that all of us, as a nation and individuals, haven’t stopped to think, ‘Wait, what did we go through?’” Levtzion-Korach paused.
“Because when you start hearing the stories, each story of each person is a whole world,” she said. “Just to hear one story is enough to fill the heart with sorrow.”
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel