Djuric visits the site where Alon Ohel was abducted: We pray for the release of hostages and peace

The Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marko Djuric, together with the parents of Serbian-Israeli citizen Alon Ohel, who was abducted by Hamas in October 2023, visited Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel today. The kibbutz, located in the northwestern Negev Desert, was the first to come under attack by terrorists.

In 2022, Kibbutz Be’eri had just over 1,000 residents. During the initial attack, around 200 people were killed, and 20 were kidnapped. Of those 20 hostages, seven remain in Gaza, but only one is still alive.

Minister Djuric was the first foreign official to visit Kibbutz Be’eri.

He also visited the site in Re’im, southern Israel, where the Nova Music Festival took place on October 7. Alon Ohel was present at the festival during Hamas’s attack on Israel, which claimed the lives of more than 300 people.

During the visit, Djuric stated that what happened there should never happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. He emphasized that he stood at the site of Alon’s abduction, praying alongside his family for his release.

“What happened here should never happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. The Jewish people have suffered greatly throughout history—we also visited Yad Vashem during our trip to Israel. But of all the difficult things I have seen in my life, this is undoubtedly one of the hardest. We pray for the release of the hostages, we pray for peace, and we hope that Alon will soon return home,” Minister Djuric said.

Alon Ohel’s mother, Idit Ohel, expressed deep emotion over the Serbian Foreign Minister’s visit to the place where Alon spent the morning of October 7.

“He was here at 5:30 in the morning, having fun, singing, dancing, and surrounded by many people. Everything started around 6:00—many rockets were fired, followed by numerous terrorist attacks. Alon fled to a nearby place to take shelter. This is now a memorial for all the people who were here that day, a reminder of the horrific attack on so many young lives, just like Alon’s,” said the mother of the abducted Serbian-Israeli citizen.

She added that all the people who lost their lives at the site on October 7 were incredible because they prevented terrorists from reaching Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The attackers, she noted, were caught off guard by the number of people present.

“All these people are incredible—they stopped the terrorists from reaching many other places, and that is how they should be remembered,” Idit Ohel concluded.