A handout photo from the Israeli Government Press Office shows a representative of the Israeli military at the base at Re’im speaking to Alon Ohel, one of the hostages released by Hamas on October 13. Photo: EPA/ISRAELI GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE.
Serbia welcomed the release on Monday of Alon Ohel, who has dual Israeli and Serbian citizenship and who had been held hostage by Hamas since its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Ohel was one of 20 hostages freed by Hamas on Monday under a deal brokered by the US. Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric and President Aleksandar Vucic confirmed that Ohel had been released, and thanked US President Donald Trump, who greeted the freed hostages in Israel.
“Joy, excitement and pure happiness on this incredible morning! Alon Ohel and his family are reunited after two years and five days in captivity. Thank you to everyone for your support, faith and perseverance,” Djuric wrote on X.
“The nightmare is over,” Vucic wrote on X. “Serbia stands grateful to Donald Trump, [his advisers] Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu – leaders who deliver freedom when it counts,” he added.
Alon, aged 24, was kidnapped by Hamas while attending the Nova music festival two years ago when the militant group attacked Israel. The attack, in which 1,195 people were killed and around 250 hostages taken, led Israel to retaliate with its military assault on Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement that Ohel had suffered serious injuries, including the loss of vision in one eye. “His second eye is also at risk,” it wrote. “Alon is a gifted pianist who planned to study jazz in Tel Aviv before his abduction,” it added.
Serbia’s honorary consul in Israel, Aleksandar Nikolic, told Serbian public broadcaster RTS that the released hostages underwent a brief preliminary medical examination.
“Based on the video that the family had the opportunity to see, Alon, praise God, looks generally, as far as I can tell, fine. He is standing on his own two feet,” Nikolic said, although also noting that Ohel had lost his sight in one eye.