The family of hostage Alon Ohel responded on Monday evening to a new video released by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas, showing Alon, who has been held captive in Gaza for 717 days.
“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.
“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 requested that the video not be shared, as its content constitutes psychological terrorism.
Or Levy, a former captive who was held with Ohel and released earlier this year as part of the second hostage deal, wrote on his Facebook account after Hamas released the video:
“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 freaking 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 released a video featuring hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal, who was seen meeting with Alon Ohel. It was the first recorded sign of life from Alon since October 7th, 2023, and his family approved that only a picture from the video could be published.
Alon Ohel, from Lavon in the Upper Galilee, had been at the Nova party on October 7, 2023, before he was taken hostage. In June 2024, a video was released of the moments of his kidnapping from the "death shelter" to which many young people who had been partying had fled.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Rosh Hashanah in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)