Wonderful News
Doctors Save Ex Hostage Alon Ohel's Eye
Freed Israeli hostage Alon Ohel underwent a rare, complex eye surgery at Beilinson Medical Center to restore vision lost during two years of Hamas captivity. Doctors successfully removed shrapnel and implanted a lens, calling the moment of discovery that his eye could be saved “moving and full of hope.”
Alon Ohel, freed from Hamas captivity after two years, underwent a rare and complex eye surgery Sunday at Beilinson Medical Center, where doctors successfully removed shrapnel and implanted a lens.
The procedure, also accompanied by orthopedic surgery, aimed to reconstruct the structure of Ohel’s eye, which had severely deteriorated during prolonged captivity under unsanitary conditions, lack of sunlight, and severe malnutrition.
Hospital officials confirmed the surgery was successful. Full results will be assessed in the coming days.
The head of Beilinson’s Ophthalmology Department told Ynet that the operation was originally planned two years ago. She described the moment doctors realized the eye could be saved as “a moving and hope-filled moment.”Ohel was discharged from the hospital just over a week ago after completing all necessary tests.
In a video released shortly after his release, Ohel, sitting beside his parents with a bandage over his left eye, thanked the Israeli public:“ Thank you so much to all of Israel for supporting my family and doing everything to get me home safe and sound. Now I’m returning to my home in the north to begin rehabilitation and self-building so I can continue my life and achieve all my goals.”
He added: “You did everything, people I don’t even know went out and raised my pictures. Thank you all. It’s not taken for granted.”
Last week, Ohel’s father told Galei Tzahal that his son rejects the label “captivity survivor.”
“I’m not a captivity survivor, I come and represent hope,” the father quoted Alon as saying. “I want to show that from the worst situation, from the darkest place, you can grow and rise.”
The father added: “He says, I kept thinking the whole time how I would become a better, stronger person and emerge from the bad place. Even when I was at my lowest, I knew how to rise.”
Earlier, Ohel’s brother Ronen told 103FM Radio that during captivity, Alon saw a photo from a hostage rally showing strangers holding his picture.“At first he thought it was family,” Ronen said. “But then he realized they were random people fighting for him. It moved him deeply. He told himself: If they’re not giving up on me, I won’t give up on myself.”