This is how Alon described his existence in captivity. š“
Ā October 7, 2023
HOW ALON WAS TAKEN HOSTAGE
āI WAS CHAINED LIKE A MONKEY.
I ATE LIKE A DOG.ā
Alon was fleeing the Hamas terrorist attack on the Nova music festival. Along with others, he took shelter in a roadside bomb shelter. Terrorists began throwing grenades inside. Aner Shapira managed to throw seven grenades back before the eighth killed him. Hersh Goldberg-Polin tried to continue protecting those inside. A grenade exploded, severing his left arm. Alon was nearby. Shrapnel severely injured his left eye, shoulder, and arm. He recalled: āThey ripped me out of my reality and put me in hell.ā Bleeding and seriously wounded, Alon was abducted and taken into Gaza. š“
HIS INJURIES AND THE HOSPITAL IN GAZA
According to Alonās testimony, an enraged crowd confronted the hostages outside the hospital. His eye was badly damaged, and his entire body was in pain. His wounds were stitched without anesthesia, leaving shrapnel embedded in his body. The hostages were forbidden from shouting or speaking. āFor the first two weeks, we didnāt speak. I sat there with people I knew nothing about.ā
18 MONTHS IN CHAINS AND STARVATION
Alon revealed that he spent approximately a year and a half in chains. His captors deliberately starved the hostages. Sometimes they received only a little bread and a few spoonfuls of peas. At other times, they survived on dried dates. His body wasted away until his bones were visible beneath his skin. Meanwhile, his captors had access to food. Alon described how they appeared pleased by the hostagesā emaciated condition. He was deprived of the most basic human freedoms and subjected to constant psychological abuse. He also disclosed sexual harassment by one of his captors.
THE PIANO HIS CAPTORS HAD NEVER HEARD OF
Alon is a talented pianist. Even while chained in Gazaās underground tunnels, he continued playing music in his imagination. His fellow hostage, Eli Sharabi, recalled how Alon tapped his fingers against his own body as though playing piano keys. His captors asked what he was doing. Alon explained: āI told them I played the piano. They didnāt know what a piano was. They werenāt allowed to listen to music or dance.ā Whenever Alon sang, his captors ordered him to stop. But the music continued playing inside his head. It helped him survive the hunger, fear, and isolation.
THEY COULD CHAIN HIS BODY, BUT THEY COULD NEVER TAKE AWAY HIS MUSIC. THE POWER OF HOPE
One day, his captors showed Alon an image from a demonstration in Tel Aviv. On a poster, he saw his own face alongside an image of a piano. He realized that complete strangers were still fighting for his freedom. āIf people I donāt even know are standing in the streets holding signs with my picture, who am I to even think about giving up for a moment? No way.ā Fellow hostage Eli Sharabi became like a father to Alon, supporting him through his darkest moments.
š®š± ON OCTOBER 13, 2025
ALON OHEL FINALLY CAME HOME.
After 738 days in captivity. After chains, starvation, pain, humiliation, and fear. He was reunited with his family. He was finally able to touch the keys of a piano again. And he regained the freedom that had been stolen from him for more than two years.
āNO MATTER WHAT, I CHOOSE LIFE.ā
That was the decision Alon made during his captivity.
THIS IS NOT JUST THE STORY OF ONE HOSTAGE.
It is the testimony of a young man who endured
unimaginable suffering at the hands of Hamas terrorists.
The world must hear the voices of the survivors.
Remember those who were murdered.
Remember those who endured this nightmare.
And remember those who never made it home.šš
