Ex-hostage Alon Ohel gives Tel Aviv concert amid the stars

Former Hamas hostage Alon Ohel gave a concert in Tel Aviv on Monday night, realizing his dream of playing the piano with the artists whose music, he has recalled, kept him going for over two years in captivity.

He was joined on the stage at Tel Aviv’s Hangar 11 venue by Shlomi Shaban, music duo Leyli, Guy Mazig, Keren “Karolina” Avratz, Idan Amedi, Marina Maximilian Blumin and the rock group Monica Sex, among others.

Ohel, a talented pianist, was 22 and attending the Nova desert rave when he was taken captive by Hamas terrorists during their October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

The notion of Ohel, who was badly injured during the attack, returning to play piano again became a central theme of campaigns to release the hostages. He was finally released under a ceasefire on October 13, 2025, one of the 20 last surviving hostages released from Gaza.

The Monday performance, which came a  day before his 25th birthday, opened with a recording of Ohel saying, “I choose life every day, I close my eyes, good thoughts, and then the music comes, which is part of me. To disconnect from the terrible situation, I imagine that I am at the piano. You came to celebrate life with me. Put everything aside. I invite you to simply be happy with me.”

When the lights came up, he was at the piano, and began to play, drawing rapturous cheers from the crowd.

"להיות פה על הבמה זה הניצחון שלי". אלון אהל ???? pic.twitter.com/LPS5zClGuD

— הקופסה (@Hakufsah) February 9, 2026

“It is crazy to be here on the stage. This is my victory, that I am sitting here with the artists that a year ago were in [Hostages] Square and played for me in order to give me strength that I, and the other hostages, should come home,” Ohel said.

In November 2024, his family organized simultaneous performances in Israel and around the world to mark 400 days of Hamas captivity for Ohel and the other captives in Gaza. Musicians played on yellow pianos distributed to public spaces around the world by the Ohels to raise awareness for their son.

During the performance, he accompanied artists as they sang the numbers that meant so much to him while held hostage in Gaza. He was also joined on the stage by his brother Ronen and mother Idit.

“Hope is something that we can create every day,” Idit said. “This performance also started as a dream. Many didn’t believe that the hostages would come back, and they returned, and one of them is here on the stage playing tonight. And how well is he playing?”

One member of the audience was particularly dear to Ohel. Eli Sharabi, who was also abducted by Hamas on October 7, spent long months held together with Ohel until he was eventually released in 2024. Both have said that Sharabi acted as a father figure to Ohel.

Ohel sought him out, declaring, “Can you believe where we were and where we are now? I’m on the stage, and you are in the crowd; this is completely surreal.”

Ohel recalled how Sharabi had given him strength, advising him to hold onto the goal of returning to his family, and to never give up that hope.

“This is my opportunity to say thank you,” Ohel said.

The concert, called “Alon Ohel, Playing for Life,” sold out after Ohel posted a link to the show on his Instagram and Facebook accounts in December. Tickets ranged from NIS 250 ($80) to NIS 1,000 ($310). All participating musicians appeared for free, with proceeds from the concert benefiting Ohel’s rehabilitation fund.

Ohel, who was taken captive from a field shelter on October 7, 2023, after trying to flee the attack on the Nova music festival, had shrapnel embedded in his body, including his shoulder, arm, and left eye, throughout his captivity in Gaza.

As part of his rehabilitation, Ohel underwent eye surgery and an orthopedic procedure in November.