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At the festival, he worked as a bartender and was abducted by Hamas on October 7 while helping evacuate the injured.
By United with Israel Staff
Nearly seven weeks after his release from Hamas captivity, Yosef Chaim Ohana was discharged from the rehabilitation program at Kfar Maccabiah in Ramat Gan on Sunday morning and returned to his home in Kiryat Malakhi.
In an interview with i24NEWS, Ohana described the moment as “an incredible closing of a circle. I’m excited to see all the people. This is not taken for granted.”
“I love you all. I just know I’m coming home,” Ohana told Kan News as he left Kfar Maccabiah. “I love everyone. My heart is at 200.”
Ohana, 25, was kidnapped from the Nova Festival on October 7, 2023, and held captive by Hamas for two years. At the festival, he was working as a bartender. After the terrorist attacks on October 7 carried out by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, he was abducted while assisting in evacuating injured people to medics and ambulances.
During his captivity, Ohana learned Arabic and, according to his account, was able on multiple occasions to convince his captors not to kill him.
The son of a single mother from Kiryat Malakhi, Ohana spent two weeks listed as missing, leaving his family in agonizing uncertainty. “I was happy he was alive, but before that we had no idea what had happened to him,” said his mother, Miri Ben Ami.
After two harrowing years in captivity, Ohana’s return marks not only the end of a personal ordeal but also a powerful symbol of resilience, hope, and the enduring spirit of the Israeli people.
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