Children once held hostage still working through trauma: 'Are they coming for us again?'

Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, precocious addressed the United Nations astir the plight of the children who were kidnapped from Israel by Hamas terrorists connected Oct. 7, 2023. 

She said that 38 of the 253 radical who were abducted that time were children. The youngest was Kfir Bibas, conscionable 8 months aged astatine the time. 

The kid is inactive successful captivity, on with his parents, Yarden and Shiri Bibas, and his brother, Ariel, who turned 5 past month.

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Bron-Harlev, a pediatrician, said children released aft 50 days successful captivity are still, to this day, waking up terrified successful the mediate of the night.

"They were not allowed to cry, not allowed to laugh, not adjacent allowed to basal up."

She said the children appeared "like shadows of children. No impressions connected their faces. They were not happy. They were not crying. They were mostly very, precise silent."

Thirty-eight of the 253 radical abducted by Hamas connected Oct. 7, 2023 were children — including Kfir Bibas, conscionable 8 months aged astatine the clip (shown above). The kid is inactive successful captivity, on with his parents, Yarden and Shiri Bibas, and his brother, Ariel, who turned 5 past month. (Bethany Mandel)

Dr. Hagai Levine, chair of the Israeli Association of Public Health and caput doc of the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, besides reported seeing children being acrophobic to speak. 

"In captivity, they were told, ‘If you speak, you volition beryllium killed’ — that's very, precise traumatizing," helium told Fox News Digital.

In summation to intelligence trauma, the hostages were besides successful utmost carnal danger. 

Levine, who is besides an epidemiologist, said the risks to the hostages’ lives ranged from the menace of "being murdered to deficiency of nutrient to deficiency of oxygen, deficiency of h2o (and) infectious diseases."

‘Every kid has a close to health’ 

Referencing the caller polio outbreak successful Gaza, Levine noted that helium sent a missive to UNICEF and the World Health Organization reminding the organizations "that each kid has a close to wellness — and this includes Kfir and Ariel Bibas." 

Levine said helium was connected a autobus this summertime with children who were formerly hostages arsenic good arsenic children who are relatives of hostages. 

"They person the unsocial quality to cope."

The young ones attended a U.S. summertime campy successful July, helium said. 

"A mates of radical called maine a White supremacist. A mates of radical called maine the N-word." 

"I saw songs and jokes," helium said, recalling his observations. "I’m not saying they were happy, but they person the unsocial quality to cope."

The doc said helium knows these children person had to turn up rapidly — but the "plasticity of the brain" helps children rehabilitate, helium said. 

Dr. Hagai Levine, seat of the Israeli Association of Public Health, is shown speaking astatine a property league adjacent the office of the families of the abductees successful Tel Aviv connected Nov. 15, 2023.   (Hadar Badar)

He said helium has encouraged them to play and dance. 

However, "there is ever a shadow" holding them back, helium said — fixed that astatine this moment, determination are inactive different hostages held captive. 

Helping them regain trust

Levine said these children grew up successful a tight-knit assemblage of a kibbutz — and seeing hostage posters everyplace of their neighbors is precise existent to them. 

"It’s truly hard for them to truly recover," helium said.

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It is simply a agelong process to get these children to beryllium capable to spot again, Levine said, and they request idiosyncratic who is simply a changeless successful their lives, particularly if their parents were murdered. 

He said physical, intelligence and acquisition rehabilitation, specified arsenic code therapy and equine therapy, tin assistance them to regain spot and consciousness successful control.

They "have been successful this horrible nightmare" for astir a year. 

He besides noted that relatives of the hostages are experiencing subsister guilt, severe depression, anxiety, insomnia and carnal symptoms specified arsenic tremors. 

They are traumatized due to the fact that they don’t cognize what happened to their loved ones, and they "have been successful this horrible nightmare" for astir a twelvemonth astatine this point, helium said.

‘Could person been me’ 

Roxanne Saar, the aunt of released hostage Gali Tarshansky, property 13, told Fox News Digital, "I consciousness similar it could person been me." 

Saar had been staying astatine her father-in-law’s location astatine Kibbutz Be’eri connected Oct. 6, 2023, erstwhile she decided to instrumentality location that night. 

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The adjacent day, 101 civilians astatine Be’eri were killed by Hamas terrorists and 32 radical were kidnapped, according to JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). 

Gali Tarshansky's brother, Lior, 15, and her uncle, Noy Shosh, 36, were among the murdered victims. 

Adults from left, above: Roxanne Saar, Gonen Saar (Aroussi), Yehuda Aroussi, Gali Tarshansky, Noy Shosh, Mahol Shosh, Lliya Tarshansky, Reuma Aroussi Tarshansky and Lior Tarshansky. (Family of Gali Tarshansky)

Saar said that the archetypal question the young teen asked erstwhile she was released from captivity aft 54 days was, "Where is Lior?"

It was not until aft she returned to Israel that she discovered her member and uncle had been killed, along with her dog, Mocha, arsenic good arsenic friends she grew up with from her kibbutz.

She was held hostage successful homes successful Gaza with Nova festival survivors and a mates from Kibbutz Be’eri. The husband, Ohad Ben Ami, is inactive a hostage, Saar said.

"There was nary showering, determination was nary water."

Saar said that successful Gaza, "there was not capable food, determination was not capable medicine, determination was nary showering, determination was nary h2o … There was intelligence terror." 

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She said the young woman's captors, immoderate of whom were armed, told her, "Israel does not exist. Your household doesn't privation you anymore.’"

Saar added, "I'm not definite if we cognize everything … I don't person immoderate expectations from terrorists who are susceptible of kidnapping a 13-year-old girl."

It is crucial, she said, for the remaining hostages to beryllium freed successful bid for the released hostages to heal.

Gali Tarshansky, above, successful July 2023, with her member Lior Tarshansky. "I don't deliberation determination is anyone successful the satellite who tin recognize the imaginable aboriginal interaction of what happened," the siblings' aunt told Fox News Digital, referencing Oct. 7, 2023 and its aftermath. "Everybody wants to help, but however tin idiosyncratic assistance with thing that we ne'er knew before?" (Family of Gali Tarshansky)

Saar said Gali Tarshansky is surviving successful a antithetic country of Israel today, attending a caller school. She is successful therapy. 

Said Saar, "I don't deliberation determination is anyone successful the satellite who tin recognize the imaginable aboriginal interaction of what happened … Everybody wants to help, but however tin idiosyncratic assistance with thing that we ne'er knew before?"

‘Takes a agelong time’

Professor Merev Roth, PhD, an expert who works with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told Fox News Digital that therapists who are treating released hostages are successful uncharted territory. 

"Will helium travel backmost erstwhile I'm truly old?"

"All of this is new," she said. "There is not 1 lawsuit successful past that truthful galore kids and families were kidnapped from their houses for specified a agelong clip and successful specified a brutal massacre."

Roth is 1 of the founders of First Line Med (FLM), an enactment that offers pro bono attraction to victims of Oct. 7. 

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She supervises kid therapists and treats big household members of kid hostages who were released aft 50 oregon 54 days successful captivity.

Roth said she had to dainty immoderate of the families successful their homes oregon hotels initially, due to the fact that they were acrophobic to spell outside. 

Tarshansky, left, with her half-sister Eden Tarshansky — who suffered the nonaccomplishment of her mother, Silvia Ohayon, who was killed successful Kibbutz Be’eri.  (Family of Gali Tarshansky)

She recalled seeing however frightened a three-and-a-half-year aged toddler was erstwhile the kid heard a gardener moving outside. 

"I retrieve the miss moving into her mother's body, and her parent instantly took her successful her arms. The miss didn't accidental a word. She was white, she was shaking, she didn't adjacent cry," Roth said.

Another time, erstwhile the small miss heard noises outside, Roth said the miss asked, "Are they coming for america again?"

Roth said different kid released from captivity is incapable to get done a afloat time of school successful kindergarten. 

Merev Roth, an expert who works with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, told Fox News Digital she recalled seeing however frightened a three-and-a-half-year aged toddler was erstwhile she heard a gardener moving outside.  (Yehoshua Yosef)

Her begetter is inactive a hostage, and Roth said she knows helium is successful information and asks her mother, "Is Father dead? Will helium travel backmost erstwhile I'm truly old?"

Roth said the children who were separated from their parents successful captivity, oregon witnessed household members being murdered oregon wounded, "shattered successful the astir extreme, brutal way" a child’s consciousness of information and spot successful the world. 

"They go easy frustrated, aggravated and disassociated."

Some children had captors who were abusive and threatening; different hostages experienced Stockholm Syndrome, wherever they identified with their captor, Roth said. 

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Antisemitism spreading crossed the globe is "a large blow," said Roth. "It added to the feelings that the satellite went crazy, that everything is distorted."

She said these children are suffering from "trauma syndrome symptoms," specified arsenic anxiety, depression, sleeping disorders and societal withdrawal. 

They go easy frustrated, aggravated and disassociated, which means "you are disconnected from your affectional effect … You go confused. You cannot ore and you don't respond emotionally successful your afloat scope. You are a spot numb," she said.

The released children (not pictured) are suffering from "trauma syndrome symptoms," specified arsenic anxiety, depression, sleeping disorders and societal withdrawal, 1 adept said. (iStock)

Dissociation tin besides beryllium self-protective, Roth noted.

"It takes a agelong clip until they travel backmost into their senses, which is simply a bully thing, due to the fact that their psyche protects them from feeling each that they would consciousness if they were connected, and it would beryllium overwhelming for them."

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The therapist said these children are struggling to consciousness normal. 

"They bash find immoderate transmission they tin to beryllium smiling and affable and cooperative. They're truly trying … They are astonishing successful their coping, but they are injured."

Play therapy, she said, enables children to reenact existent experiences done imaginary scenarios, and gives therapists penetration into their interior thoughts. 

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"You tin spot the divided of the satellite into full bully and full atrocious creatures warring each different … I spot implicit evil, revenge, maltreatment and angels," she said. 

"You tin besides spot the different broadside … life saviors that came from obscurity to prevention them." 

A seven-year-old lad said helium was the "cat hero," helping the cats helium drew to autumn dormant and consciousness little afraid.

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He besides wrote a touching communicative with his therapist astir a household of kittens who had been kidnapped and were found. Roth said that the kid told his therapist, "Now we tin decorativeness therapy, due to the fact that the kitties are backmost home."

Said Roth, "I'm ever overwhelmed by the quality and the spot and the resilience."