Ex-hostage Alon Ohel performs aboard USS Nimitz for 4th of July
Captivity survivor accompanies on keys as John Ondrasik performs his post-9/11 hit ‘Superman’ — which the US singer revamped last year in honor of Ohel while he was held in Gaza
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Hamas captivity survivor Alon Ohel performed aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in New York on Saturday as part of the 250th Fourth of July celebrations, footage showed.
A video shared by John Ondrasik, who goes by the stage name Five for Fighting, showed the US singer-songwriter singing his post-9/11 hit “Superman” while Ohel, an avid pianist, accompanies on keys.
Ondrasik revamped the ballad in Ohel’s honor in April 2025, when Ohel was still in captivity in Gaza.
While the anguished superhero of the original sings about “a home I’ll never see,” the revamped version’s protagonist hails “a home I will soon see.”
Ondrasik, Ohel, Ohel’s brother Ronen and US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz arrived together at the Nimitz on Friday, according to a photo published by the singer.
The aircraft carrier sailed into New York Harbor on Friday to take part in a naval review marking 250 years since the US Declaration of Independence, the US military’s Stars and Stripes news outlet reported.
I’m so proud of Alon . So much courage. So much strength and talent. Hero ????
Big thanks to @johnondrasik ????
Footage: PR https://t.co/Y6SVH2sVIr pic.twitter.com/8UVic8cdEG— Iris (@streetwize) July 4, 2026
Ohel, 25, was abducted from the Nova music festival during the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.
He was one of the 20 last living hostages, all of whom were released on October 13 last year as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement that was reached that month.
The Times of Israel Community.