‘We've been given the chance to live again’: Alon Ohel and Eli Sharabi talk about life after Hamas captivity

A year after Alon Ohel was released from Hamas captivity, he and fellow former hostage Eli Sharabi reunited Tuesday for a joint interview at ynet's "People of the Nation" conference, reflecting on the friendship they formed during a year and two months together in Gaza tunnels, their lives since returning home and the everyday freedoms they no longer take for granted.

Sharabi, a resident of Kibbutz Be'eri, was released in February 2025 after 491 days in captivity. Ohel, a pianist abducted at age 22 from the Nova music festival, was freed in October 2025 alongside the last living hostages, after 738 days.

‘All of Israel was part of it’

Neither man imagined what life would look like after his release from captivity. "We never imagined we'd become such well-known figures," Sharabi said. Following his release after 491 days, he became one of the most prominent voices advocating for the hostages who remained in Gaza. "We couldn't believe that all of Israel was so involved in this," he said.

Sharabi had imagined his wife and daughters running toward him at the border upon his return. Only after his release did he learn that his wife, Lianne, and their daughters, Noiya and Yahel, had been murdered in Be'eri. His brother Yossi had also been abducted and killed in captivity.

"Everything that came afterward was completely unexpected," Sharabi continued. "But ultimately, there are certain realities you wake up to in the morning, and you have to figure out what to do with them. And that's it. The rest is history."

Ohel said he had expected to have to take care of everything himself after returning home. "When I got out, I realized my parents had taken care of me," he said. "Today, I'm mainly focused on my rehabilitation and my music."

Asked whether people they encounter on the street tend to cry or hug them, Ohel answered: "Both together."

"Sometimes you practically have to pick people up off the floor, really. They're so incredibly emotional, and I give all that love back," Sharabi added. "I'm the most approachable person in the world."

He acknowledged that his approach to public attention had changed. "I used to be a private person, but after everything the people of Israel did for us, it's the least I can do."

‘I'm incredibly proud of it’

The friendship the two men developed in captivity has continued since their release. "We talk, we meet. We're both very busy people, and we try to do it as much as possible," Sharabi said.

Asked about the private jokes they share, he explained: "There are things that stayed with us from there. Of course, we laugh about them, remember them and get emotional together."

"We're also very different people," Sharabi said. "There are a lot of similarities, too," Ohel added.

Sharabi pointed to a few unexpected connections between them. "He was born on February 10, and I was born on February 13. I worked 200 meters from his father and simply didn't know it."

More important than those coincidences, Sharabi said, was the fact that they shared similar values. "That was the foundation on which we were able to build this incredibly close and caring friendship, and I'm prouder of it than anything in the world."

The little things that are no longer taken for granted

Asked what ordinary activity they appreciate most after being deprived of it in captivity, Ohel had a simple answer: "Opening the refrigerator."

For Sharabi, it was taking a hot shower. "You don't take it for granted after showering with half a bucket of cold water once every six weeks, sometimes once every two months," he said. "Begging for showers, begging to shave, begging for everything."

Even the frustration of sitting in traffic has returned, although Sharabi said it rarely lasts. "Very quickly, you tell yourself, 'I have all the time in the world.'"

Asked when they had last felt happy, Ohel replied: "All the time, all the time." Sharabi added: "Every day I have my family beside me, my friends and the things I do."

"We're alive," Ohel said. "We've been given the chance to live again."

‘I'm in an amazing relationship’

Ohel is in a relationship with Goni, a childhood friend who campaigned for his release. Asked whether he had brought her to Sharabi for his approval, Sharabi replied: "Far from it."

Ohel explained what he valued about being in a relationship with someone who knew him before captivity. "She really knows you, not just what people said or told her about you," he said. "I think it's much more open and free, without defenses."

Sharabi revealed that he, too, has been in a relationship for about six months. "I'm in an amazing relationship. I'm happy, and everything is good." When asked to share more about his partner, however, he drew a firm boundary. "That's my private life. Absolutely not."

‘There isn't a day I don't cry’

The two men offered different perspectives on how their time in captivity had changed them. "I haven't changed at all," Sharabi insisted. "The situation changed, but Eli is still Eli."

Ohel saw things differently. "I was kidnapped at 22. Today I'm 25. Without a doubt, what I went through shaped me."

Sharabi said his sense of humor had always been an essential part of his personality. "I'm a joker. I don't know how to get through a day or even an hour without joking around. It's always been part of me."

He said he also finds himself crying frequently. "I think I'm making up for all the days in captivity when I didn't cry. There isn't a day I don't cry," he said. "Most of the time, I cry because I'm moved. But of course, I also cry because of an enormous sense of longing. It exists alongside life. It doesn't stop me from living."

Ohel said he also sees crying as an important emotional release. "I think it's a way of letting things out, and it's important. I don't try to hide it, either."

From diving in Thailand to a stroller and a baby

Asked what moment from before October 7 he would most like to share with Ohel, Sharabi recalled his travels in Thailand. "I would have liked him to go diving with me," he said. "I had incredible days of diving in Thailand, and we talked about it throughout our entire captivity."

When asked where he hoped to see Ohel in three years, Sharabi offered a particularly personal wish. "I'd love to see him with a stroller, with a baby. He'll be an amazing father," he said. "And in those moments when he says, 'Enough, I've had it,' I'll take the baby and look after him. I'll be there for him."

"That will definitely happen," Ohel replied.

Asked what he wished for Sharabi, Ohel said: "That you live your life and travel nonstop, just like we always talked about. Just enjoy yourself."

‘We must stay united, not only when things are hard’

At the end of the interview, three years after October 7, the two men were asked to share a message with the Israeli public. "Every day that passes never comes back. Enjoy yourselves," Sharabi said.

"Don't take your family for granted. Hug them every day. Appreciate the basic things in life, the things that really matter, not material possessions."

Ohel concluded with a call for unity. "We need so much to remain united and together. Not to be united only when things are hard, but also when things are good, and to keep it that way."