Medical experts are sounding the alarm over the potential long-term effects faced by hostages still held in Gaza, warning that they could suffer permanent disabilities. Reports from those who have been released suggest that Alon Ohel is at severe risk of losing his sight. Ohel, 24, has been in captivity since October 7, 2023, and it is reported that he has shrapnel in one of his eyes, leaving him able to see only shadows from that eye.
Medical sources in touch with Ohel’s family have told Kan public broadcaster that testimonies from freed captives indicate that Ohel’s injuries, left untreated, could lead to blindness in both eyes. The medical professionals have expressed grave concern about the lack of proper care for him.
Last week, his mother, Idit Ohel, made an emotional appeal for her son’s release, revealing that he is being held in dire conditions. She claimed that he has been starved, chained up in a Hamas tunnel, and suffered multiple untreated injuries. “He has shrapnel in his eye, he has shrapnel in his shoulder, he has shrapnel in his arm. Alon was bound in chains, this entire time, and he had almost no food — at most one pita a day, over a very, very, very long time, more than a year,” she told Channel 12.
{Matzav.com Israel}