Tel Aviv, Sept 23, (dpa/GNA) – The parents of Alon Ohel, a 24-year-old Israeli musician abducted to the Gaza Strip two years ago, have appealed to the media not to share a new video of him released by the Hamas movement.
“Our family is shocked and full of pain,” they said in a forum of the relatives of those abducted on October 7, 2023.
Ohel, who was seized at the Nova Festival being held in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip at the time, had appeared thin and anxious in the video, his parents said. They added that it was noticeable that he was losing sight in his right eye.
“We demand as a precondition for any negotiations… that eye specialists examine and treat Alon,” Idit and Kobi Ohel wrote in their statement.
They also issued an appeal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the eve of the Jewish New Year, noting that the fate of young Israelis was in his hands. “Do not break the heart of the Israeli people,” they wrote.
The most important thing was to return Alon and the other hostages to their families, they said.
According to official Israeli information, 48 hostages are still being held, with at least 20 believed to be alive.
Hamas has repeatedly published videos of the remaining hostages, in what has been seen by the Israeli government as terrorist propaganda.
Relatives have on occasion approved the publication of the videos as a whole or in part. Recent images of emaciated hostages in tunnels have shocked the Israeli public.
GNA