Geopolitical and security analyst Michael Horowitz explained on X that many of the children had lost either one or both of their parents during the attack and may not yet know.
He wrote, “Israeli soldiers who are due to escort the children hostages to be released in the agreement with Hamas have received specific instruction drafted by the Welfare Ministry to deal with the psychological trauma they suffered. Among these instructions is one not to respond to their questions about their parents and wait until they are in Israel. This is because many of them have lost at least one of their parents, if not both.”
He added that Israeli soldiers have also been ordered not to pick up any of the children, including those unable to walk, without asking the child’s permission first.
He wrote, “Soldiers have also received specific instructions to make sure they ask before taking a child in their arms or helping a child who cannot walk. They must ask the child before doing so.”
Horowitz explained that the children who have been captives of the terrorists for almost two months need to be safely returned to Israel before they can begin to process the trauma that they have been through.
