On Oct. 9, 2023, Alon Ohel was supposed to begin a new life in Tel Aviv, in an apartment he had rented with friends. Over the past two years, the roommates changed, but Ohel’s room was waiting for him. Now that he is finally home, his parents, Idit and Kobi, say he is already planning his life in the city.
“His friends are there,” his parents said. “There’s no reason for him to go back north now. We were afraid he would want to isolate himself, not see people, but he already wants to regain his independence. He’s strong in his determination to rebuild himself. He’s setting goals, planning for the future, and wants to strengthen his fingers so he can play music again. Even the doctors are amazed by his energy and motivation.”
“He’ll need rehabilitation for life, but he’s optimistic and wants to dive back into living,” they said.
Idit and Kobi say they are astonished every day by their son’s mental resilience. “He told me, ‘Mom, I’m not just Alon Ohel, the hostage who survived. I’m a symbol of hope. I want people to see me and look forward, to know that it’s possible to overcome something like this,’” Idit said. “That’s Alon — optimism, movement, strength.”
For seven months, Ohel and fellow hostage Eli Sharabi were chained together, fighting for every breath. “A little before Eli was released, they started giving them slightly more food because they knew he’d be freed soon. A week before his release, they removed their chains. After Eli left, Alon remained alone. That was a tremendous emotional blow for him,” his parents said. “He loves him like family. When they met after the release, they both broke down in tears. Their bond is deep — almost spiritual. One of the miracles was that Eli was placed with Alon.”
After Sharabi’s release, Ohel remained in the tunnels for many months, completely cut off from the world. “He was taken down to the tunnels on the 51st day of the war and hadn’t seen daylight since. A tunnel two meters by two meters. He had to survive in his mind. He sang to himself, played imaginary tunes with his fingers on the mattress, meditated, tried to disconnect from the horrors he was experiencing. He told himself, ‘This has to end someday.’ That hope kept him going,” they said.
But the torture, starvation and isolation were not the only things Ohel feared. “His greatest fear was the IDF,” his parents revealed. “Either that the army would strike the tunnel, or that his captors would shoot him if soldiers got too close. Every time there was a provocative statement in Israel — especially from Minister Ben-Gvir — he felt it. On those days, they wouldn’t get food or water.”
Like many other hostages, Ohel learned Arabic while in captivity, though he tried not to speak with his captors. “He was held in a very harsh area of Gaza. He didn’t try to talk to them. He just tried to survive.”
Ohel’s struggle didn’t end at the hospital gate. “Because of what he went through — physically and mentally — he still has so much to recover from: treatments, therapy, surgery on his eye. We launched a crowdfunding campaign because the state provides only the bare minimum, and it’s not enough,” said Idit and Kobi.
“The campaign embarrasses Alon — and us, too,” they added. “We’re not a family that asks for handouts, but we’re not sure we can give him everything he’ll need in the years ahead. His rehabilitation will last a lifetime. Two years were taken from him. He endured physical and psychological abuse. He deserves support.”
“Alon is optimistic, always moving forward. He wants to play music again, to plan, to live in Tel Aviv, to dive back into life,” his parents said proudly, asking “only those who want and are able” to help with the crowdfunding campaign they launched — so that Alon’s music “will only keep growing stronger.”