It wasn’t an easy night at Sheba Medical Center for the hostages rescued in the daring and miraculously successful operation on Shabbos.

Although initial reports said that the hostages’ medical condition was good, subsequent reports revealed a much more complex picture. Although the hostages appear healthy, they are suffering from malnutrition and are in a compromised psychological state.

Kan News reported that the three male hostages who were held together, Andrey Kozlov, Shlomi Ziv, and Almog Meir Jan – formed extremely tight bonds with each other. Even after their release, in the hospital, the three were constantly looking out for each other and it’s clear that after eight months in captivity together they still need each other’s support.

They endured extremely difficult moments together, with some captors treating them more harshly than others. At some of the places they stayed, they were blindfolded.

The three may also be suffering from Stockholm syndrome to a certain degree. They reported that some of the captors cared about their welfare but in the same sentence, spoke about abuses they endured.

Almog said that on his birthday, his captors cynically presented him with a birthday cake.

Almog’s mother, Orit Meir, said in a press conference on Monday that her son learned Arabic and Russian during his captivity – Arabic from Al Jazeera and Russian from his fellow hostage Andrey, who made aliyah only months before he was abducted and spoke limited Hebrew.

She added that “his relationship with the other hostages is what really helped to keep his hopes and spirits up. The connection gave them lots of koach and that’s what strengthened them during captivity. They didn’t lose hope until they were rescued. They constantly felt that the day would come, that they would return home.”

Their emotional and psychological recovery will be a slow process as it will take time for them to process their experiences and return to a fully functional life. Dr. Itai Pesach, the director of Sheba Hospital, said that they are suffering from severe nutritional deficiencies and they will need many months of psychological and medical support

Channel 13 reported that Shlomi Ziv told his relatives that he learned Arabic from Al Jazeera and said they were forced to read the Koran and pray every day.

The three also said that they were moved several times from place to place and they ate mostly carbohydrates.

The hostages were unaware of almost anything that had happened in Israel since October 7th and finding out the details has been shocking and painful for them.