Freed hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen debuts album written in Hamas captivity

Dekel-Chen said music became one of the things that helped him preserve “hope, health, and sanity” throughout his captivity.

By JNS

Sagui Dekel-Chen, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and held captive in Gaza for 498 days, on Sunday debuted his album “Minus One” in a live performance at Kibbutz Nir Oz, nearly 18 months after his release, Ynet reported.

All nine songs were written and composed in his head during captivity, since he had no way to write them down or test the melodies on an instrument, according to the report.

Some 3,000 people attended the show, part of the Israel Festival, marking the first event of its kind held at the kibbutz that was devastated by the Oct. 7 massacre.

“I’m not a singer; I’m a father who sings,” Dekel-Chen wrote in a personal letter included in the concert’s song booklet.

“I never intended to become a singer or to sing. I was kidnapped; they took everything from me.”

He said music became one of the things that helped him preserve “hope, health, and sanity” throughout his captivity.

Dekel-Chen was released on Feb. 15, 2025, as part of a U.S.-brokered hostage deal with Hamas and recorded all nine songs on his phone two nights later while still hospitalized, capturing melodies and lyrics that until then had existed only in his memory.

Several songs were written for his wife, Avital, and their daughters, including one for his daughter Shahar Mazal, who was born while he was held in Gaza and whom he had not yet met at the time he composed it.

“לשיר מפה שירי חופש זה דבר קשה נורא”, כתב, הלחין ושיר שורד השבי שגיא דקל חן, ב”שיר השירים”. בשעה זאת שגיא מקיים מקיים מופע מרגש ומיוחד על הדשא של קיבוץ ניר עוז, ממנו נחטף בטבח ה-7 באוקטובר, בפני כ-3000 אנשים. במופע, “מהשבי אל הדשא: הסיפורים והשירים” שמו, הנערך במסגרת פסטיבל… pic.twitter.com/5h87npK3yj

— Sagi Bin Nun שגיא בן נון (@sagibi) August 10, 2026