As they prepare to receive 50 hostages released by Hamas under the cease-fire agreement, Israel’s Health Ministry has issued instructions to local hospitals to feed malnourished patients.
According to an Israeli news outlet, official guidelines call for “rehabilitation of captives during their repatriation.” NetReferring to a condition that can lead to death in people who have not been properly fed for a long time and suddenly return to a normal diet.
“Prolonged undernutrition can have adverse health effects and even lead to life-threatening severe malnutrition,” the guidelines said, breaking down recommended foods by age group.
Children between the ages of one and three should be given water, sweet biscuits, unsweetened applesauce, tea sweetened with a teaspoon of sugar, the guidelines said.
Adolescents and adults should be given water, a hot drink with a tablespoon of sugar, three sweet biscuits, and an unwrapped apple.
Refeeding syndrome is caused by sudden changes in fluid, electrolyte, and metabolic intake. National Institutes of Health. Patients who are not given proper food for ten days are prone to the disease.
The condition of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas during the bloody attack on October 7 is unclear.
Most of their 54 years of captivity are believed to have been held in a network of tunnels buried under Gaza.
A four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin at 7 a.m. local time (12 a.m. ET). In return for the hostages’ release, Israel will release 150 Palestinian prisoners and send fuel and humanitarian aid trucks to Gaza.
The first hostages were released at 4pm on Friday. Children are sent to Schneider Children’s Medical Center, according to Ynet, and adults are sent to Wolfson, Ichilov, Soroka and Saba hospitals.
The families of the hostages have asked for special instructions about refeeding syndrome to be sent to hospitals, said Professor Hagai Levin, head of the medical team assigned to the families of the hostages.
“[It’s] It is important to maintain a calm approach and not to rush to repair everything at once, but gradually in time and in an appropriate way, “said Levin.
“In terms of physical activity, one should act on the same principles as mental health. In a broader sense, for example dental care, for example conditions cannot always be adequately addressed in hospitals,” he added.