Hamas on Friday released a video showing hostage Alon Ohel, marking the first filmed proof of life from him inside Gaza since his abduction on Oct. 7, 2023.
After the footage was released, showing Ohel, 24, briefly conversing in Gaza City with fellow hostage Guy Gilboa Dalal, his family confirmed his identity but asked that the footage not be published. Shortly afterward, Gilboa Dalal’s family released a 28-second excerpt of the video that did not include Ohel.
Excerpt from Hamas propaganda video of Guy Gilboa Dalal
(Video: Courtesy of Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
For most of the clip, Gilboa Dalal is seen riding in a vehicle, saying the recording took place on Aug. 28, 2025, as Israeli forces prepare for a ground operation in the city. At one point, he meets Ohel for a short exchange. "All we want is for this to be over. We want to return to our families. Please, bring us back," Gilboa Dalal says in the clip released by the family.
“We received a sign of life from our Guy, six months after the previous video in which he appeared with Evyatar David watching their friends released," Gilboa Dalals' family said. "Guy, Alon and other hostages were taken to Gaza and we are very worried for their lives. They must be brought home.”
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Guy Gilboa Dalal and Alon Ohel
(Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum, from Instagram)
Ohel’s family confirmed his identity after the video’s release but asked that the footage itself not be published, saying they need time to review it privately before offering a formal response.
Alon's story
Originally from the Galilee community of Lavon, Ohel was abducted while attending the Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im, one of the main targets of Hamas’ surprise attack. In June 2024, earlier footage surfaced showing the moment of his capture as he and others tried to hide in a roadside shelter known by survivors as the “shelter of death.”
Ohel is a pianist and gifted musician who began playing at age nine. Before his abduction, he had planned to enroll at Rimon School of Music, focusing on jazz studies, and move to Tel Aviv. “I so want him to start already — it’s waiting for him,” his mother, Idit, said earlier this year. “All he needs is to come home.”
His father, Kobi, described the family’s anguish in a recent interview with Ynet studio. “There is great fear. Alon’s conditions are very difficult. He is losing his eyesight, but he survives because he knows the State of Israel will rescue him,” he said. “I want to feel that as a citizen here, I can believe in that.”
The moments of Alon Ohel's abduction
(Video: Courtesy of Hostages and Missing Families Forum)
He voiced frustration at what he sees as a gap between Israel’s political and military leadership. “I don’t understand it. Even the prime minister, a month ago, seemed to be in a different place. I was told that if there is a deal, it will be partial, in stages, but the aim is to bring everyone back. Today I don’t understand or know what is happening. The army says a partial deal is needed, but politically I hear nothing.”
He also pointed to the broader moral and historical weight of freeing captives, invoking Jewish tradition. “My daughter just started 10th grade — what does that mean when her brother is still in captivity? From a civic, historic and even biblical perspective, the redemption of captives is paramount. I won’t accept excuses. Alon is there today, and today he needs to be saved. We are a strong country with a strong army. Now is the time to rescue the hostages and bring them back.”
He added that his wife Idit has put aside her work to focus on efforts to free their son. “It’s excitement and hardship at the same time,” he said of the new school year. “Inbar, Alon’s sister, is starting 10th grade without him. He always supported her and taught her, but the process is incomplete. For us, time has stopped. Alon remains in Hamas captivity under the harshest conditions.”
Guy's story
Gilboa Dalal, from the West Bank settlement of Alfei Menashe, was abducted from the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, during Hamas’ surprise attack. He had attended the event with his brother Gal, who managed to escape.
His mother, Merav, has spoken publicly about his passion for Japanese culture. “Guy started with anime series — it captivated him,” she said. “He wanted to travel to Japan with a friend and began reading signs in Japanese. His dream was to see the cherry blossoms and speak to people in their own language.”
His father said the family clings to hope every day despite the uncertainty. “We have no source of information about what is happening to him,” he said. “Our hope is that he was not injured. Every morning we wake up and every night we go to bed hoping for good news.”