Family of Hostage Alon Ohel Demands Medical Care After Hamas Video Release By The Media Line Staff The family of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel released a statement Wednesday expressing anguish after Hamas published new footage of him on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. The video, the second to appear since his abduction on October 7, […]
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The Media Line: Family of Hostage Alon Ohel Demands Medical Care After Hamas Video Release
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Family of Hostage Alon Ohel Demands Medical Care After Hamas Video Release
By The Media Line Staff
The family of Israeli hostage Alon Ohel released a statement Wednesday expressing anguish after Hamas published new footage of him on the eve of Rosh Hashanah. The video, the second to appear since his abduction on October 7, 2023, was the first in which Ohel spoke on camera.
His parents, Idit and Kobi Ohel, said the images left them “shaken.” They noted that Alon appeared thin, frightened, and visibly impaired. “These are not Alon’s eyes. Alon lost vision in one eye,” they said, adding that consultations with ophthalmology experts in Israel and abroad confirmed he cannot see from his right eye.
The family vowed to issue a fuller statement after the holiday and pressed the government to ensure their son receives urgent treatment. They called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to condition any future humanitarian aid or negotiations with Hamas on access to an eye doctor for Alon. “On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, in these days of repentance, the fate of the lives of young Jews, Israeli citizens, is in the hands of the prime minister and the cabinet. Don’t break the nation of Israel’s heart,” the statement read.
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the video—or any excerpts—may only be shared with the family’s approval. An earlier clip showing Ohel was never publicized at their request.
Netanyahu, together with government hostage envoy Gal Hirsch, spoke with the Ohel family during the holiday. The prime minister described what his office called a “joint military-diplomatic move” aimed at freeing the captives and defeating Hamas.
Kobi Ohel urged Netanyahu to return from his upcoming UN General Assembly address with a breakthrough. “The prime minister is leaving now on a critical and historic trip to the US. Idit and I expect that from this trip he will return with an announcement — the announcement that the entire nation of Israel is waiting for,” he said.