Israel gave a grim account Monday of seven freed hostages' health, saying that despite a "show" by Hamas to present them as healthy and smiling, they faced a long recovery from their ordeal.

The seven women freed so far under Israel's ceasefire deal with the Palestinian militant group were all malnourished, exposed to psychological suffering and wounded in various ways, said the deputy chief of the Israeli army's medical corps, Colonel Avi Benov.

Images of four Israeli soldiers -- aged 19 and 20 -- released in Gaza on Saturday by Hamas showed them looking healthy and smiling. They greeted people around them and clutched parting gifts in paper bags as they were handed over to the Red Cross.

But Benov said there was more to the story.

"They were given more food in the days before (their release), they were allowed to shower, they were given (new) clothes," he said........

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