Released hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen embraces his wife as he is reunited with his family in Israel, in this handout image obtained by Reuters on February 15, 2025. Photo: GPO/Handout via REUTERS.

Former hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was kidnapped by Hamas-led terrorists from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023, performed for the first time ever on Monday night an album of nine songs that he wrote and composed in his head during captivity.

Dekel-Chen, 38, performed songs from his debut album “Minus One” on the central lawn of Kibbutz Nir Oz and was joined on stage by well-known Israeli artists, including Idan Raichel, Marina Maximilian, and the band Hatikva 6. The concert took place as part of the 65th Israel Festival, a three-week event that features music, theater, dance, and performance art. The festival runs from July 28- Aug. 20 in areas across Jerusalem, the Western Negev, and Israel’s north.

Dekel-Chen composed, wrote, and memorized “Minus One” entirely during his 498 days in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip. The songs are about his wife and children, fears that his family had not survived the Oct. 7 attack, and also the psychological trauma he experienced during captivity and after his release. One track, titled “Don’t Know Your Name Yet,” is about his youngest daughter who was born in December 2023 while he was held hostage. In “Song of Songs,” Dekel-Chen sings: “We used to sing at the top of our lungs / now I sing in silence.”

The entire album is available on YouTube and Dekel-Chen also released recordings of some songs that he took on his phone while in the hospital recovering, after his release from captivity. Proceeds from the performance on Monday will be donated to nonprofit organizations helping bereaved families impacted by the Israel-Hamas war, the festival said. Roughly 3,000 people attended the concert, and it was the first major event held at Nir Oz since the Oct. 7 attack, according to Ynet.

Kibbutz Nir Oz is where Dekel-Chen was born and raised, and where he met his wife and raised his first two daughters. It was one of the hardest-hit communities during the Hamas attack. Dekel-Chen was abducted from Nir Oz while his pregnant wife and two daughters hid in the family’s safe room. He was shot in the shoulder during the attack and tortured during captivity. His family survived and he was released from captivity in February 2025.