Israeli-Serbian musician Alon Ohel, who was released today along with other hostages by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, emphasized in his first public message that “song was his strength” and that it is “the end of his suffering.”
“My song is my breeze, my open window, my strength, laughter, and tears, the end to my suffering. I’m home,” Alon Ohel wrote on a whiteboard while he was in a helicopter on his way to a hospital in Israel, which is visible in the photograph published by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
After his release from the Gaza Strip, Ohel was first taken over by the Red Cross, and then, along with the other hostages, was handed over to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who transported him by helicopter to a hospital in Israel together with his family.
Alon was photographed sitting smiling in the helicopter, between his mother and father, holding the whiteboard on which he wrote his first message after being released.
Alon Ohel, a survivor of more than two years in Hamas captivity in Gaza, aboard an IDF helicopter on his way to a hospital in Israel to begin his recovery, undergo further assessment, and reunite with more loved ones.
— StandWithUsUK (@StandWithUsUK) October 13, 2025
He writes on the whiteboard:
“My Song is my breeze
my open… pic.twitter.com/9VeIeqyGVJ
“A few minutes ago, he sat at the piano in his room and played a little, after two years without touching a piano,” his mother Idit said, adding that he will slowly return to playing at the level he was used to.
Ohel’s families used donated pianos around the world as a way to raise awareness of his difficult situation.
When asked about the poor condition of Alon’s right eye, his mother said that he “sees very little with his right eye.”
“He hasn’t undergone exhaustive tests yet, we’ll see,” Idit Ohel added.
Alon Ahel also waved to the citizens who came to support him outside Beilinson Hospital. 🇮🇱💛 pic.twitter.com/R4QlXGuu51
— The Uri (@uricohenisrael) October 13, 2025
Idit emphasizes that her son knows nothing about what happened in Israel in the last two years, except that there was a war.
“He was shocked when he saw so many people at Hostages Square and strangers holding his picture. We are going step by step, at Alon’s pace,” his mother said.
Alon was attending the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, when Hamas members invaded southern Israel and kidnapped him along with 250 other hostages. He spent 738 days in captivity.
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Source: Kurir / RTS; Photo: Printscreen X