The relief is tinged with concern for the future. On Monday night, Erez and Sahar Kalderon, 12 and 16, and Eitan Yahalomi, 12, were released by Hamas after 52 days in captivity as part of the truce agreement with Israel. Upon their return to Hebrew territory, they were greeted by their relatives and taken to the hospital where they were able to spend the night with their mothers.
For now, the news is still scarce, but it looks good, at least on a physical level.
How are the young hostages?
The indirect news "is good," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told RTL radio on Tuesday morning. The three Franco-Israelis have "classic medical follow-up, as always in these cases," she said, but they "do not seem to be tested beyond what the detention may have represented in terms of psychological shock, difficulty in daily life," the head of diplomacy continued. "So far, so good."
Erez and Sahar Kalderon "are doing well physically, apart from malnutrition," relatives confirmed to Le Parisien on Tuesday morning.
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Deborah Cohen, Eitan's aunt, said she was "worried" about the psychological state of her nephew, who was kidnapped in the October 7 attacks by Hamas in Israeli territory. "I think he's okay physically, although he's thin. But I think he's not feeling well. He has a long way to go," she told several media outlets on Tuesday morning.
Were they mistreated?
For the time being, the news is, as the minister said, indirect. "The kids have been through hell really. They were subjected to mental torture, very, very harsh experiences," relatives of Erez and Sahar Kalderon told Le Parisien.
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Deborah Cohen, Eitan's aunt, said she got some details from his sister, the boy's mother, who was able to spend the night with him at the hospital. According to her, the child "experienced horrors". The young boy was "forced to watch the film" of the October 7 attack, he told his mother. "Every time a child cried, they were threatened with a gun," he said.
She also told several media outlets, including BFMTV and RTL, that the boy was "beaten by the population" when he arrived in the Gaza Strip.
What were their conditions of detention?
Again, it's too early to have all the details, but according to Deborah Cohen, "apparently Eitan wasn't treated well." According to the information available, the 12-year-old boy spent part of his detention alone, and part "accompanied by, among others, the people of the Kibbutz" abducted on the same day as him, but not with his father, Ohad Yahalomi (49), who is still detained in Gaza. Ofer Kalderon (53), the father of Erez and Sahar, who was also kidnapped, has also not returned.
With regard to daily life, several hostages freed in recent days have spoken - again via indirect testimonies - of the difficult hygienic conditions, the lack of food and the lack of comfort. "They didn't have much to eat, they didn't wash," Deborah Cohen said. It was only on the last day before their release that Eitan was given "new clothes."