After 491 days in Hamas captivity, Ohad Ben Ami was reunited Saturday evening with his three daughters at Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, following an earlier meeting with his wife, Raz Ben Ami, herself a former hostage.
As his daughters embraced him, one of them cried out, "There you are! Dad!" to which Ben Ami responded, "I’m here. My lionesses. You are amazing." His daughter Natalie, who had enlisted in the IDF after her father was taken hostage, revealed the news to him for the first time, leaving him visibly stunned.
Freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami sees his daughter Natalie in IDF uniform for the first time
(Video: from social media)
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Freed hostage Ohad Ben Ami sees his daughter Natalie in IDF uniform for the first time
(Photo: from social media)
"Dad, I’m a commander in a military welfare course," she told him. "Did Mom even allow you to enlist?" he asked, as one of his other daughters admitted, "It took a long time and a lot of convincing."
Eventually, Ben Ami smiled and told Natalie, "I’m proud of you. Proud that you didn’t listen to your mother." She immediately shouted back, "I knew it!"
During the meeting, Ben Ami joked about his drastic weight loss, quipping, "I left extra-extra-large and came back a medium," hinting at the horrors he and his fellow hostages endured in Gaza.
Following the reunion, Ben Ami’s other daughter, Ella, shared her thoughts in a social media post, writing: "All this time, I couldn’t express how proud I was of my sister for her brave decision to enlist. We weren’t allowed to talk about it. Now we finally can! Dad is proud of you too."
In another post, Ella described a powerful moment before her father was airlifted to the hospital. She said he asked for her advice on whether he should exit the helicopter discreetly through the medical corridor or be filmed wrapped in the Israeli flag. "There was no question—he stepped out proudly, draped in his country’s flag, showing that he is a hero."
Ben Ami reunites with his daughters, mother and brother in the hospital as he is accompanied by his wife Raz
(Video: GPO)
Reflecting on the time lost during captivity, Ben Ami acknowledged he had many unanswered questions—especially about the October 7 attack that led to his abduction.
"Time moves forward. It has been a year and four months, and I have a million loose ends," he said. "I know I’m going to receive some very painful answers, but I need to know what happened that day."
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Ben Ami also revealed that he was held in Hamas’ tunnel network, describing the cramped and harsh conditions. "In the tunnel I was in, we constantly had to crouch," he recalled. "At one point, I hit my head hard."
Ben Ami, 56, was abducted from his home in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Footage of him being forced away by Hamas terrorists, dressed only in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, became one of the defining images of the massacre.
Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, head of the Health Ministry’s Medical Division, provided an update on the condition of Ben Ami and fellow freed hostages Eli Sharabi and Or Levy.
"This morning, upon their release, we saw clear signs of severe malnutrition—stark evidence of the hell they endured," she said. "We saw significant weight loss. These are difficult images to process, yet their resilience offers hope for recovery."
Speaking to Ynet, Dr. Mizrahi emphasized that the hostages had been held in different locations under varying conditions, but all suffered physical and psychological harm.
"They are returning with long-term damage—you cannot erase starvation, humiliation and extreme hardship," she explained. "However, those who have come back are walking, talking and fully aware of their situation."
Still, she cautioned against judging their condition by outward appearances.
"Even if a released hostage looks relatively well, that does not mean they did not endure unimaginable suffering or that they are not facing severe long-term consequences from their time in captivity."