Alon Ohel, a freed hostage who was released after 738 days in captivity in Gaza, performed with American artist John Ondrasik aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier during celebrations marking America’s 250th Independence Day. Ohel was invited by Ondrasik himself, and the two performed Ondrasik’s hit “Superman” together during the official reception on the carrier’s deck.
The event was attended by senior U.S. government and military officials, including the Chief of Naval Operations, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, and many others. The two performed the song before thousands of attendees and an aerial flyover.
Alon Ohel, a resident of Lavon in the Upper Galilee, is a talented and gifted pianist who grew up in a loving and creative family. Ohel was kidnapped from the Nova music festival when, as the shooting began, he and 26 other partygoers fled to the “death shelter” at the Re’im junction. After terrorists stormed the structure, he was abducted while bleeding and semi-conscious.
Alon started playing piano at age 9, studied music in high school, drew inspiration from classical music and jazz, and performed recitals. He used to participate in jam sessions and improvise, and planned to continue his musical studies at the Rimon School of Music in Tel Aviv after returning from a trip to the Far East in October 2023.
During the Nukhba terrorists’ raid on the Nova festival, the hostages defended themselves heroically and threw grenades outside, but the terrorists broke in, murdered many of them, and dragged out four: Alon Ohel, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eliya Cohen, and Or Levy. Alon was seriously wounded by shrapnel—in his eye and body—and was taken to Gaza in a van, bleeding and semi-conscious. About a month before his release, the terror organization cynically released a propaganda video exposing his severe condition.