Hamas Releases New Sign of Life From Hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana

The Hamas terrorist organization released a new sign of life on Saturday from Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, two Israeli hostages abducted from the Nova music festival near Re’im on October 7. This marks the second joint video Hamas has published featuring the two, the previous having been released in late March.

According to Israeli officials, the latest video's contents will be publicly shared only if the families grant permission. Both families confirmed their awareness of the footage and are in discussions with authorities.

Two Lives in Captivity

Elkana Bohbot, a party production professional, was an active organizer at the Nova festival. His last communication came at 8:00 a.m. on the day of the attack, when he told his parents that “everything is fine,” shortly after texting his wife Rivka that gunfire had erupted and he was helping evacuate others. He is married and a father to a young child. During the war, Hamas has released four separate videos of him.

Yosef Haim Ohana, a bartender at Aryeh restaurant in Tel Aviv, was also abducted from the festival. According to his family, Yosef and his friends tried to help the wounded, assisting with transfers to ambulances before being fired on with RPGs. He has remained missing ever since.

Details From March Footage Reveal Hostages' Plight

The previous video, released in March, showed Bohbot and Ohana visibly distressed and reading statements that appeared to be dictated by Hamas. In the footage, Elkana pleaded:

“I haven’t gone out with my wife and son yet — every day without them is hard.”

He addressed Ohad Ben Ami, a fellow hostage who was later released, urging him to advocate on their behalf:

“Ohad, speak, you were with us. Explain what we are going through so that everyone knows.”

Ohana, in the same video, described the deterioration of conditions following the Israeli military’s renewed campaign in Gaza:

“Before the last deal, our situation was difficult — no food, no safety, we didn’t know if we would survive. When the deal began and aid came in, we saw the light. But when the Israeli government decided to attack again, it almost brought our end. We saw death before our eyes.”

Grim Health Concerns Emerge

Following the March footage, Bohbot’s domestic worker described his state:

“He is in continuous hell. He’s lost significant weight from starvation, suffers from skin and respiratory issues, and hasn’t seen daylight for nearly a year and a half.” Bohbot is also known to be asthmatic.

Context of the Hostage Crisis

Bohbot and Ohana are among the 129 hostages believed to remain in captivity since Hamas’s October 7 terror assault on southern Israel, which led to over 1,200 deaths and the abduction of civilians into Gaza. While dozens were released during a short-lived hostage deal, negotiations remain stalled, and many families are still awaiting news.