Sagui Dekel Chen, now 36, was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His wife, Avital, gave birth to their third child shortly after he was abducted.
The baby, born two months after the massacre, was named Shahar, Hebrew for the first light that comes after darkness.
Seeing the first photos published of his release, his wife said, “He’s handsome.” After reuniting with his wife, Dekel Chen boarded an IAF helicopter, where he sent a message to his children: “Bari, Gali, Shahar – thank you for looking after me, Dad is coming.”
שגיא דקל חן במסר לבנותיו מהמסוק: "ברי, גלי, שחר - תודה ששמרתן עליי, אבא בדרך"@Doron_Kadosh pic.twitter.com/0j2O9xmyLZ
— גלצ (@GLZRadio) February 15, 2025
Hebrew University history Prof. Jonathan Dekel Chen, Sagui’s father, noted in an opinion piece published in the British daily The Times last month that his son was living without knowing that his children and wife had survived the attack.
“The one who sits at the top and who is responsible for what happened, primarily, on October 7 – that is our prime minister,” he told the Kofman and Arieh program on 103FM in March. “To return the captives or whoever is possible, to return them alive, not to sacrifice them again.”
The professor was also part of a group of hostage families who were critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his trip to deliver a speech to the US Congress in July of last year.
“In the coming hours, [Dekel Chen] will begin his rehabilitation process, he will meet his daughters Gali and Bar, and for the first time meet his little daughter, Shahar, who was born while he was in captivity,” said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“Our hearts ache for everything he missed, but now he’s here, unlike many others. It’s important for us to emphasize that there are many more families waiting for their loved ones, and many children waiting for their fathers.”
Dekel Chen was one of two American citizens set for release as part of the first phase of a ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.