Overview
- Sagi Dekel-Chen, who performed Monday, sang nine songs he says he composed and memorized in his head while held by Hamas for 498 days.
- He recorded the songs on his phone soon after his February 15, 2025 release and later worked with arrangers Liad Grushka and Idan Shneor to prepare produced versions for performance.
- The Israel Festival presentation on Nir Oz's central lawn featured a live band, guest artists including Idan Raichel, former hostages, bereaved families, and roughly 3,000 attendees.
- Dekel-Chen stressed he is 'not a singer' and called the event 'part of the story' rather than a celebration, saying he chose Nir Oz because it is his home and the site of personal loss from the October 7 attack.
- Organizers framed the concert as testimony and communal remembrance, proceeds were pledged to nonprofits helping bereaved families, and the show points to the growing role of cultural events in processing trauma and supporting rebuilding efforts.