The Unthinkable
Two Years in Hell: Alon Ohel Details Hamas Captivity, Sexual Harassment, Chains, and Starvation in Gaza Tunnels
Alon Ohel, a survivor of two years in Hamas captivity, gave a terrifying exclusive interview detailing the use of chains, brutal starvation, and the moment a terrorist attempted to sexually harass him while he was alone in a Gaza tunnel.
After two years of agonizing captivity in Gaza, survivor Alon Ohel has revealed his harrowing ordeal in an exclusive interview, detailing the brutal conditions, his fight to maintain his sanity, and the deep, father-son bond he formed with fellow hostage Eli Sharabi. Ohel, a sensitive pianist before his abduction, recounted his transformation, developing a "hide of an elephant" against the threats and humiliations inflicted by the Hamas terrorists.
From the moment he was seized at the Nova music festival, Ohel, now 22, decided he would do everything to survive. Weeks of enduring treatment were laid bare, including months spent chained, enduring sexual harassment in the tunnels, and the agonizing moment he watched Israeli soldiers the men meant to protect him, from the window of the Red Cross vehicle.
The Massacre and The Bullet’s Impact
Ohel described the chaos at Nova, recalling fleeing the party when shelling began, followed by the terrifying sound of Kalashnikovs. Inside a concrete shelter, he witnessed the heroic last stand of Aner Shapira, who hurled incoming grenades out one after the other until he was killed. Ohel believes the explosion from a grenade that detonated near Hersh Goldberg-Polin, shattering his arm, is what caused the severe injury to his own eye.
"I saw everything with my own eyes, and I think that’s the grenade that burst my eye," he remembered.
The abduction was sudden and brutal. Ohel was thrown "like a sack of potatoes" into a pickup truck, dripping blood from severe wounds to his head, shoulder, and eye. "They tore me from reality and put me in hell in a second," he stated, describing his terror at crossing the border fence with no sign of the Israeli Air Force.
Abused, Starved, and Chained
Ohel and other captives were taken to a hospital where they faced a hostile, hate-filled mob. "Call them uninvolved?" he asked dismissively. "Everyone is involved there." The initial medical treatment was barbaric; he was crudely stitched up with no anesthesia, forbidden to scream or speak, and remained chained for months.
"You never experienced starvation, you were never chained for a year and a half. Chained like a monkey, and eating like a dog. There, you are not a human being, you are an animal," he stressed.
The physical torment was compounded by mental anguish. They survived on meager portions, a single pita and four tablespoons of peas a day, or sometimes only dry dates, even though they knew the terrorists had food. Ohel said they constantly looked like skeletons, which pleased their captors.
The "Father's Hug" and The Music
His only anchor during weeks of isolation was Eli Sharabi. They met 52 days into captivity after being moved to the tunnels. Ohel described Sharabi as being "like a father" to him. "He was there to hug a father’s hug," Ohel recounted, recalling how Sharabi comforted him when he punched a wall in despair. Sharabi, whose daughters Noya and Yahel were killed on October 7, carried Ohel through the ordeal. The two promised to survive for their waiting families.
To keep his sanity, Ohel, a pianist, would secretly sing while the terrorists prepared food nearby. They told him to stop, as their faith forbids music. But he continued, clinging to the memory of the music, unaware that a grand piano awaited him in Hostages Square at home.
Sexual Harassment and The Final Moments
Ohel revealed that the terror escalated when he was left alone in the tunnel after Sharabi and others were taken out as part of a temporary deal. He faced threats and sexual harassment from the guards.
"I went in to shower and he came to shampoo me... He put shampoo on his hand and started to soap me in the shower. He was touching me," Ohel bravely recounted. He pushed the terrorist away, who insisted he only wanted to ensure Ohel didn't get a rash. "Luckily, it didn't go further," Ohel said.
Ohel’s survival was secured months later. As he was being driven away by the Red Cross, an organization he slammed as "disgraceful", he saw the Israeli soldiers fighting for him. He was overcome, not with relief for himself, but with the sight of the older reservists, "f***ing grown-up people, with families and children," who were fighting for his freedom.
Upon learning that his father figure, Eli Sharabi, had lost his entire family, Ohel finally broke down. He concluded that while he was "a dead person for two years," he is now "not a victim" but a survivor, ready to "devour this world."