Consultations are underway among Israeli health officials, still of a preliminary and discreet nature, in which a ''horrendous scenario'' is addressed: that is, the possibility that women held hostage by Hamas have been raped and that on their return to Israel they may be pregnant, even advanced. The news was released by Maariv, according to whom there are no concrete figures on the matter. However, the newspaper notes with alarming tones that incidents of rape of Israeli women took place as early as October 7 and that information has since been added about other possible sexual violence suffered by women still included among the 136 Israelis held hostage in Gaza.
Adding to the concerns in health circles is the degraded hygienic conditions of those detentions, with the possibility of developing infections dangerous to the health of the women hostages. Then there's the devastating psychological aspect of a rape pregnancy in those circumstances. ''The brain can't even comprehend the situation of a woman who is pregnant as a result of rape by a murderous terrorist,'' said Professor Tal Biran of the Meir Medical Centre in Kfa Saba (Tel Aviv). The issue is discussed and deepened by teams of gynaecologists and psychologists.
Maariv notes that in Israel, abortions are authorized by a special commission up to the 24th week of pregnancy. In later periods, the consent of a second committee is also required. In this specific case, according to Maariv, it is presumable that a woman interested in terminating her pregnancy after imprisonment in Gaza would be allowed to do so, unless serious health problems occurred. ''The more the days go by, the more acute the issue becomes,'' said Professor Haggai Levin, head of public medicine in Israel. - Such pregnancies can be complicated by stress, unhygienic environments and lack of medical care. If among the prisoners there is a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape, she must be returned to Israel as a matter of urgency."
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