Therapists, toys, choppers: IDF all set to receive hostages under operation 'Heaven's Door'

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has made all the required preparations to receive the 13 hostages who are going to be released by Hamas from Gaza on Friday at 4:30 pm Israel time.

Under the operation ‘Heaven’s Door’, Hamas will release 13 hostages, consisting of women and children, captured since the October 7 attacks.

The hostages will remain in Hatzerim before being taken to hospitals via helicopter, which will be flown in a more comfortable and quiet mode, or minibus.

Preparations taken by IDF

Once they are freed from the Gaza Strip via Egypt, the hostages will be brought to Hatzerim Airbase in southern Israel for an initial reception where they will undergo a physical and mental checkup.

Psychologists and therapists are on standby to greet the hostages, many of whom are children. The mental health experts will explain the details of the series of events of the October 7 attack when the time is right.

The IDF has also arranged phones for the hostages to call their families immediately. The families of the hostages are waiting at the hospitals and hotel rooms in the area.

Hostages who need immediate physical attention will be taken straight from the border to a hospital, without going to Hatzerim.

Meanwhile, Schneider Children’s Hospital has recommended that the hostages remain under observation for 48 hours before they return home.

To ensure the hostages do not get too overwhelmed upon their return, IDF has urged the public to “show patience and sensitivity and respect the privacy of released hostages and their families and not to circulate unverified information.”