Hamas released a video on Monday showing Israeli-German hostage Alon Ohel alive, the second time this month the Palestinian group has published footage of him.
The 24-year-old was kidnapped during the October 7, 2023 assault on Israel and was later identified by his family and the Israeli Hostages and Missing Families Forum. In the latest video, he is seen wearing a black shirt and appealing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to secure the release of all hostages held in Gaza. He also urged his relatives to continue public protests against the government in a bid to pressure for their freedom.
The recording, published by Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, shows Ohel seated in front of a screen displaying Netanyahu. A militant dressed in black and holding a gun is also seen briefly tapping him on the shoulder. The date of the footage has not yet been confirmed.
Ohel’s parents, Idit and Kobi, expressed deep distress after seeing the video. They noted that their son looked frail, distressed, and appeared to be losing vision in his right eye, calling for urgent medical treatment for him. They said his future, along with that of other captives, depended on decisions made by Israel’s leadership.
Ohel had been preparing to begin music studies shortly before he was taken. He was abducted while trying to escape the Supernova music festival, one of the main targets during the October attack, where militants captured him and three others on Route 232.
Earlier in September, Hamas released another video featuring Ohel alongside fellow hostage Guy Gilboa-Dalal.
According to official figures, 251 people were seized during the October 7 attack. Israel says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 who are believed to be dead. The initial assault killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, while Israel’s military response in Gaza has since left at least 65,344 dead, according to health ministry data in the Hamas-run enclave, figures the United Nations continues to use.