The mother of Alon Ohel, a hostage taken from the Nova Music Festival Oct. 7, 2023, who remains in Hamas captivity, is pleading for her son’s release after the first phase of the ceasefire concluded last week, but no new deal for a second phase has yet been reached.
“I think every mother in this world, if they just stopped for a second, would [they] even be able to breathe, knowing that their son or daughter have eaten dinner, are not getting any food – they’re being starved, chained and in bad condition,” Idit Ohel told Fox News Digital.
“Would they be able to just do anything? It’s unbearable. It’s just unbearable.”
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A poster of Alon Ohel, who was taken hostage at the Nova music festival. (Syndi Pilar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Alon and 58 others, including one individual taken separately from the Oct. 7 attacks, remains a hostage after 518 days since the October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
During the attack, Alon hid in a bomb shelter outside the Nova music festival and was injured when shrapnel hit his right eye.
Footage shared with Fox News Digital showed the harrowing state he and others were in during the attack and their subsequent abduction.
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According to Israelis who were held hostage with Alon, his injury was never properly treated, and he is now at risk of going blind in both eyes, Idit explained.
Alon was confirmed last month to still be alive after the release of three hostages who were held with him. He is now believed to be held on his own.
“I have no idea where Allen is right now, but I do know as a mother that I’m frightened for him, and I know that he needs to be back as soon as possible. It’s urgent,” Idit explained to Fox News Digital.
Idit Ohel, the mother of Israeli Serbian citizen Alon Ohel, who is being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas, holds a portrait of her son during a news conference at the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade Sept. 11, 2024. (Oliver Bunic/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump this week met with hostages released from Gaza who told the president they believed he had “been sent by God” to secure their release.
Idit, who is Israeli, has not heard from either the Trump administration or from Netanyahu’s office.
But she believes Trump will help to return her son.
“I know that Trump can bring my son home. I know this because he has the power to do it. And when he wants something, he does it,” Idit said. “I’m rooting for him.
“I came all the way from Israel to D.C. to make sure that I’m heard, that Alon is heard,” she added. “I’m advocating for him. Alon is being held. He can’t speak.”
News this week revealed the Trump administration was directly communicating with Hamas to secure the release of five American hostages still held in Gaza, including the only surviving American, Edan Alexander.
Reports also noted that the administration was directly negotiating with the terrorist organization, an unprecedented move that has reportedly frustrated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to try to secure a 60-day ceasefire in exchange for the release of 10 hostages.
But there are 25 hostages still believed to be alive, including Ohel.
The family of Alon Ohel, who was taken hostage by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, continues to fight for his release. (Idit Ohel)
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In a direct message to her son, Idit said, “We pray for you, and I am doing everything in my power to make sure that you are not forgotten.
“You are not forgotten,” she added. “People here think about you every day, and they want to save you and want to bring you back home.
“Your father and I, and your sister and your brother, are with you all the time.”
