Alon Ohel sent his family a message from captivity for the first time

He sent a birthday card to his sister through other prisoners who were freed on Saturday, said his mother Idit Ohel.

Alon Ohel sent a message to his family for the first time

"Alon was in the tunnels all this time. He didn't see sunlight, he doesn't know the difference between day and night, he got little food, about one piece of bread a day," Alon's mother told Reuters.

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Alon, who is a pianist, turned 24 on Monday. He was wounded by a grenade thrown into a bomb shelter where he was hiding with nearly 30 people on October 7, 2023, as they fled an attack led by armed Hamas militants on a festival.

A citizen of Serbia was wounded in the eye

"He has lost sight in his right eye because of the shrapnel. And his legs are shackled," said the desperate mother.

Those details were given to her by a military officer on Sunday who were released on Saturday with another hostage, Ohad Ben Ami.

Harsh conditions in Gaza tunnels

In December, a report by Israel's Ministry of Health stated that hostages in Gaza were subjected to torture, sexual abuse, starvation, burns and medical neglect.

Alon Ohel is not on the list of 33 hostages slated for release in the first phase of the six-week truce, which is now in jeopardy.

"He knows how to survive. He knows, but this is not right. There is not enough time. He has to come home alive. Please, bring him home," his mother said through tears.

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