Family Pleads For Urgent Medical Care After Hamas Video Shows Hostage Alon Ohel’s Failing Health

The family of hostage Alon Ohel voiced anguish on Monday evening following the release of a new video by Hamas showing the 23-year-old in declining health after 717 days in captivity.

“Our family is trembling and in pain after the release of Alon’s video by Hamas. It is clear that Alon is losing vision in his right eye, and he appears emaciated and terrified. We demand that eye doctors be allowed to examine and treat him as a condition for any further negotiations or aid to Hamas,” the Ohel family stated.

They urged Israeli leaders to make the hostages’ return their highest priority.
“On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, during these days of repentance, the fate of young Jewish lives – Israeli citizens – lies in the hands of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Do not break the hearts of the people of Israel. The most critical national issue now is the return of Alon and all the hostages to their homes.”

The family also appealed to the public not to circulate the footage, calling it a form of psychological warfare.

Or Levy, a former captive freed earlier this year in the second hostage deal, shared his distress after watching the clip of Ohel.
“Rosh Hashanah. Another one. And you’re still there. I just saw your video, and it hits me in the face again. You, who we promised, ‘Come on, there’s no way you’re not coming back soon. No way the fighting will resume.’ How naïve we were. And now, two years…Two years since that cursed day when civilians and soldiers were kidnapped. Two years of hearing excuses about why you can’t be brought back. And now, they’ve stopped making excuses – they’ve just normalized the situation.”

Levy continued, “How can we, in the State of Israel, on Rosh Hashanah, sit at the table, celebrate, breathe, when you’re still there? When your families are suffering? We, as a country, as citizens, as human beings, cannot and must not normalize this. Bringing the hostages home is not a political issue. It’s a human issue. Anyone who turns it into something else, from any side, is despicable. We must remember this. We must keep talking about you. We must bring you home. And to you, Alon, I say again: Stay strong, my brother. Keep fighting. I know how hard it is, but you’re a lion. You’re a lion who will overcome everything. Our job now is to ensure you suffer as little as possible.”

Earlier this month, Hamas published footage of hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal meeting with Ohel, the first proof of life from Alon since October 7, 2023. His family permitted only a still image from that recording to be released.

Ohel, a native of Lavon in the Upper Galilee, was attending the Nova festival on October 7, 2023, when terrorists stormed the site and abducted him. In June 2024, video emerged showing the moments of his kidnapping from the “death shelter,” where many people at the festival had sought refuge.