Former hostage Alon Ohel was discharged from Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva on Friday and returned home to Moshav Lavon.
He was cheered on by well-wishers during his two-hour trip home in the North. Crowds gathered at the Mitzpe Aviv junction northeast of Haifa to welcome him back, and Ohel got out of his vehicle and thanked them for their “incredible love.”
“Thank you to all of Israel who did everything to get me home,” he said. “I am now embarking on a process of rehabilitation and self-building so that I can continue my life and achieve all my goals and what I want to do in life. Many thanks to all the people of Israel who supported my family and did everything to get me home.”
Ohel was admitted to the hospital after being released from Hamas captivity earlier this month in the hostage-ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump.
Idit, Alon’s mother, said, “Thank you for all the support over the past two years. We are so happy to have our Alon back, and we are grateful to the people of Israel.”
His father, Kobi, added, “We are embarking on a new journey for all of us to return to continue life. From here we see only good things.”
What Ohel endured during captivity
Ohel was seen wearing an eyepatch over his right eye. Before his release, other released hostages and Ohel’s family noted concerns that he had lost vision in one of his eyes and had suffered from shrapnel wounds inflicted on him the day of his abduction.
Surgeons plan to operate on his right eye, and doctors are cautiously optimistic about improving his vision.
Ohel had been held by Hamas alongside Eli Sharabi, who described him in his new book, Hostage, as his “best friend for 14 months.”
Danielle Greyman-Kennard, Goldie Katz, and Gabriel Colodro/The Media Line contributed to this report.