Elma Avraham, an 84-year-old woman who was released Sunday night after 51 days in Hamas captivity, was evacuated by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center immediately upon her return to Israel.
Avraham's condition is serious and her life is in danger.
Avraham was kidnapped from her home in the community of Nahal Oz, on the morning of October 7. She is medically complex and requires several medications on a daily basis in order to live.
Professor Moti Klein, who heads Soroka's ICU, on Monday morning said, "Elma was evacuated in serious condition. She is being treated in the general ICU, and is still in serious condition, unstable, unconscious and on a respirator. There is a danger to her life."
"She arrived semiconscious. From tests we performed, blood tests and other tests, her condition is the result of the fact that she did not receive the medications she was supposed to receive - medications that essentially keep her alive. We are familiar, from other places in medicine, with what happens when patients do not receive such medications for one reason or another. We have no doubt that this is the case in this instance," he told Channel 12 News.
Professor Klein also expressed optimism regarding Avraham's chance at recovery: "We need to wait patiently now, so that these things will have an effect. We are optimistic and we will do everything to ensure she comes out of this. She is alive - that is already good. We need to do everything slowly, gradually. We know what needs to be done and we are waiting for her to respond. We are optimistic that she will respond and it will be okay."
When asked about the condition of Maya Regev, who is also hospitalized in Soroka following her release from Hamas captivity, Prof. Klein said, "She is recovering. She is obviously not in the ICU, but in an area intended for patients in her situation. We are doing what is necessary in order to return her to her community, to her family. She was treated in captivity, but did not receive definitive treatment, or sufficient treatment, or final treatment. These are people who are very strong. We are filled with amazement at their resilience, including physical. A woman of Elma's age who survived this period, for so long, who remained alive and is fighting - sometimes we do can't believe it when we see such strength."