Hostage Alon Ohel Alive but Wounded, Suffering in Hamas Tunnels, Family Says

The family of hostage Alon Ohel has received the first sign of life since he was abducted over 16 months ago. According to reports from recently released hostages, Ohel is alive but severely wounded, held in chains in Hamas tunnels with almost no food.

Ohel, who turns 24 on Monday, was kidnapped from the Nova music festival by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. He was taken alongside Or Levy and Eliya Cohen, who remain in captivity. Another hostage from the same bomb shelter, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was tragically murdered by Hamas in August 2024.

Hostages released in the first phase of the ceasefire deal have been limited to women, children, the elderly, and those classified as “humanitarian cases”—meaning the sick and wounded. Despite his dire condition, Ohel was not included in this phase of release. His fate now depends on further negotiations, which Hamas demands must include an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

“He has shrapnel in his eye, in his shoulder, in his arm,” his mother, Idit, said in an emotional interview on Channel 12. “Alon was bound in chains this entire time, and he was barely given food—maybe one pita a day—for over a year.”

She added that fellow hostages Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, who were released on Saturday, were in a similarly emaciated state. “What kind of selection is this?” she cried, evoking horrifying historical comparisons. “How is Alon, in this terrible condition, not considered a humanitarian case? How is he not home with me right now?”

According to the family, Ohel has received no medical treatment and can barely see out of his wounded eye.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly not authorized Israeli negotiators to begin talks on the next phase of the deal, despite the deadline passing. Right-wing members of the government are pushing for a return to military action rather than continuing negotiations with Hamas.

Ohel’s mother told Ynet that the family has not yet spoken to Or Levy but hopes to hear more details when he is ready. “Right now, he needs to be with his family. He just learned that his wife was murdered. I want him to recover, and when he’s ready, I would love to listen and visit him.”

In a statement, the family expressed their deep pain and urgency:

“We are relieved to know that Alon is alive, but we are devastated over his physical and emotional suffering and the continued abuse of all the hostages. Alon has endured unimaginable horrors, but time is running out. We cannot delay their release any longer—they are all humanitarian cases!”