Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and senior cabinet officials on Sunday were presented with harrowing medical profiles of the 20 remaining living hostages in Gaza — a grim briefing that will shape life-or-death decisions in the expected hostage-ceasefire deal now edging closer to agreement.

According to details reported by Channel 12, ministers were shown deeply troubling medical reports on each hostage, highlighting widespread malnourishment, untreated chronic illness, severe mental breakdowns, and physical injuries suffered during captivity. The information, some of which was shared on air, underscored the near-impossible task of deciding which hostages should be prioritized for release in a staggered deal that could see some forced to remain in captivity for weeks longer.

The emerging framework envisions the release of roughly half of the living hostages and half of the deceased hostages over a 60-day ceasefire, split into five separate phases. According to an Arab diplomat involved in the negotiations, eight living hostages could be freed on day one, with two more on day 50, while sets of deceased hostages would be returned periodically.

Among the most critical cases: 24-year-old Alon Ohel, reportedly held alone and at high risk of permanent blindness; 21-year-old Rom Braslavski, wounded in both arms and asthmatic; and 25-year-old Matan Zangauker, suffering from muscular dystrophy while being held in isolation. Others face severe psychological trauma, malnutrition, or injuries from torture and harsh confinement.

Unlike previous deals, Israeli security authorities did not rank the hostages by medical urgency, leaving Netanyahu and his cabinet to make those wrenching calls, Channel 12 reported. The meeting ended without final decisions, to be revisited once practical negotiations resume.

Israel dispatched negotiators to Doha on Sunday after Hamas last week said it had accepted a US- and Israel-backed proposal with reservations. Early rounds of indirect talks concluded inconclusively, diplomats said.

In Washington, Idit Ohel — mother of hostage Alon Ohel — pleaded through tears for decision-makers to see her son’s plight. “I can’t help him. I can’t give him food. I can’t hug him. Nothing,” she told Channel 12. “The time has come for an agreement. Alon needs to come home.”

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum fiercely criticized any phased or selective release, likening it to Holocaust-era “selections” of those kept alive versus those sent to death. “All of the abductees could have been returned for rehabilitation and burial many months ago, if only the government had chosen to do so rather than operate based on considerations of political survival,” the group said in a statement.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)