Latest news with #OmerShemTov
New York Times
10-06-2025
- New York Times
Finding God, and Nietzsche, in the Hamas Tunnels of Gaza
Each morning, Shelly Shem Tov would enter her son's empty bedroom and recite Chapter 20 from the biblical Book of Psalms, an ancient plea for deliverance. All the while she was unaware that her son, Omer Shem Tov, happened to be uttering the very same verses of Psalm 20 — 'May the Lord answer you on a day of distress.' He had adopted the same daily ritual about 130 feet underground, alone, in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza. Mr. Shem Tov was 20 when gunmen seized him during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. He had grown up in a largely secular home, and was living a relatively carefree existence after completing his compulsory military service — waiting tables in a steakhouse to earn money for a post-army trip to South America, a popular rite of passage for many Israelis of his age. He was captured while fleeing the Nova music festival, a rave party attended by thousands near the Gaza border. A few days into his captivity, he said, he began to speak to God. He made vows. He began to bless whatever food he was given. And he had requests — some of which he believes were answered. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Sky News AU
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Israeli hostage reveals Hamas ‘wanted' Kamala Harris to win US election
Sky News host Rita Panahi says Israeli hostage Omer Shem Tov, who was held by Hamas for 505 days, revealed that the terrorist group wanted Kamala Harris to win the US presidential election. Shem Tov explained that his Hamas captors were 'very scared' of US President Donald Trump. 'They wanted Kamala to be chosen to be elected,' he said.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Hamas wanted Kamala Harris to be president, says freed Israeli hostage
Hamas wanted Kamala Harris to be president, a freed Israeli hostage has claimed. Omer Shem Tov, has said his captors had hoped the Democrat would win the election and credits Donald Trump for helping to secure his freedom. 'As soon as Donald Trump was elected, they understood that he wants to bring the hostages back home,' Mr Shem Tov told CNN. The Israeli national was released in February as part of a short-lived ceasefire after spending 505 days held captive following Hamas's Oct 7 attacks. Mr Shem Tov was abducted along with 43 other people on October 7 2023 as he danced with his friends at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. He spent much of his time in captivity in isolation in a tunnel beneath the Gaza strip, where he was starved. During his time in captivity, Mr Shem Tov said that he frequently spoke about politics with his Hamas jailers and that his treatment significantly improved after Mr Trump's election win. Hamas 'stopped cursing me, stopped spitting on me,' he told CNN. While held hostage, the Israeli man lost more than 50lb, after his daily food rations were reduced from two pittas and some cheese to a single biscuit. 'Starvation, it's an awful thing,' Mr Shem Tov previously told ABC. 'Seeing my bones, my shoulder bones, my rib cage, I can feel it. Eating a biscuit a day, calculating how to eat it throughout the day. 'Not a lot of people can imagine what true darkness is. If you're in a dark room you move your hand, you see shadows moving. I did not see those shadows. There were times I thought I went blind.' More food received after Trump's win After Mr Trump's election victory, Mr Shem Tov said he started receiving more food again, enabling him to survive. Following his Feb 22 release, Mr Shem Tov and another hostage, Keith Siegel, met with Mr Trump and praised the president for bringing about their freedom. 'I am home because of his efforts,' Mr Siegel told CNN, before urging Mr Trump to free the remaining hostages. 'I believe that he wants to do this and it's important to him. He has told us that. I ask him to do whatever he can and to do it as soon as possible to get an agreement secured and to get them all back,' he added. On Wednesday, the US denied agreeing terms to a ceasefire deal despite claims by Hamas. Hamas released a statement saying that it had reached an agreement with US special envoy Steve Witkoff for a 'permanent ceasefire' in exchange for the release of 10 living Israeli hostages.
Fox News
28-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Freed Israeli hostage says Hamas captors 'wanted Kamala to be elected,' were 'very scared' of Trump's return
Print Close By Kristine Parks Published May 28, 2025 A former Israeli hostage told CNN in an interview Wednesday that his Hamas captors hoped former Vice President Kamala Harris would win the 2024 election and that the terrorists were "very scared" of President Donald Trump returning to office. Omer Shem Tov, 22, was freed in February after spending 505 days in captivity in Gaza. He was captured during the deadly October 7, 2023, terror attack at the Nova music festival in southern Israel. Tov talked about his experience and about how the 2024 U.S. election played a role in how he was treated by Hamas in a new interview with CNN. "They were very scared of him," Tov said of his captors' view of Trump. "They wanted Kamala to be elected." RETURN OF TRUMP GIVES FAMILIES OF GAZA HOSTAGES NEW HOPE "But as soon as Donald Trump was elected, they understood that he wanted to bring us back home. So immediately, the way they treated me changed," he continued. "When Trump became president, the way they treated us changed, for me personally." "Because they anticipated that a deal would come soon?" CNN's Bianna Golodryga asked. "Yeah," Tov responded. "And that's when they started giving you more food?" she continued. "Exactly," Tov confirmed. "More food, started treating me better. Stopped cursing me. Stopped spitting on me." Kamala Harris' office did not return a request for comment. HOSTAGES FREED FROM GAZA TELL TRUMP HE WAS 'SENT BY GOD' TO SAVE THEM, BUT DOZENS MORE REMAIN In March, Tov visited the White House with other recently freed hostages and told the president that he believed he was "sent by God" to save them. Tov credited Trump for securing his release in the interview with CNN. "He got me out, he got the hostages out. Before, we felt like nothing was happening," he told Golodryga. A clip of the interview was played on Wednesday's "Inside Politics" and anchor Dana Bash remarked that it seemed like the terrorists were trying to "fatten up" Tov because they believed he would be released under Trump's leadership. There are 58 hostages still in Gaza, at least 23 of whom are assessed to be alive. Itay Chen, 19, Omer Neutra, 21, Judy Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband, Gadi Weinstein, 73, are all believed to have been killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack and their bodies taken into Gaza. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. Print Close URL
CNN
28-05-2025
- General
- CNN
‘It haunts me daily:' Freed Israeli hostages fear for those still held captive by Hamas
Keith Siegel has been free for nearly four months, but he is still pained by vivid images of his 484 days as a Hamas hostage and of those still held in Gaza's tunnels. 'It haunts me daily,' Siegel, a dual US-Israeli citizen, told CNN. 'Everything that they're experiencing is very difficult for me to think about. I can't get those thoughts out of my mind.' Siegel isn't just talking about the physical and psychological abuse he was subjected to by his captors or the suffocating conditions and malnutrition he faced in tunnels deep underground. He's also terrified that Israel's intensifying bombardment and ground offensive will kill the remaining living hostages – or drive Hamas to execute them. Hamas and other militant groups kidnapped 251 people from Israel during the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. As Israel marks 600 days since the war began, Siegel and dozens of former hostages and relatives are renewing their call for a deal that will end the conflict and secure the release of all 58 still held captive, living and dead. Protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv on Wednesday and gathered in Hostage Square and in front of the US embassy to put pressure on the Israeli government to make a deal with Hamas and return the remaining hostages. For Omer Shem Tov, among the last of the hostages to be released before the ceasefire collapsed in March, there is an ever-present feeling of guilt. Every time he eats, he thinks about the hostages not eating. Every time he showers, he knows those still captive in Gaza cannot. 'I can feel it here,' he says, pointing at his throat. 'I feel like I'm being choked.' Like many other released hostages, Siegel and Shem Tov have dedicated much of their newfound freedom to advocating for the release of those left behind. Shem Tov, 22, considers the hostages his brothers and sisters, after everything they have endured. 'I will fight for my family,' he told CNN. 'They're going through hell. And time is critical.' Most of the Israeli public wants to see a ceasefire deal to bring the remaining hostages home, according to numerous polls, but as those who survived captivity, the freed hostages are the movement's most powerful voices. They see their advocacy as a near-sacred obligation to those still in Gaza. 'The hostages' lives are now more critical than eliminating Hamas,' said Shem Tov. Meanwhile, Siegel has raised awareness about the horrific conditions of captivity he endured and the dangers the remaining hostages face. Speaking from his daughter's home in northern Israel, Siegel looked healthier than when he was released in February. He has regained some of the weight he lost in captivity, color has returned to his face and he has been spending time with his family and out in nature. But his mind is never far from the tunnels of Gaza and thoughts of Matan Angrest, a 22-year-old Israeli soldier, and Omri Miran, a 48-year-old father-of-two, with whom he was held. 'I think about them every day. Many times a day. And I worry about them – and I miss them,' Siegel said. Siegel and Miran were held together for nearly five months, until July 2024, passing the time by talking about their shared taste in music and their love for their families. Miran has two daughters – Alma and Ronni, now aged 2 and 4 – whose names easily rolled off Siegel's tongue. 'It was very difficult for Omri to think about his daughters growing up without their dad and how hard it was for him to think about him missing their growing-up, their development milestones,' Siegel said. Miran called out directly to Siegel in a hostage video released by Hamas last month. Siegel said his fellow former captive looked like 'a different person… in a negative way.' Siegel hesitates to describe his relationship with Angrest as one of a father and his son, but it's clear they built a special bond during the 67 days they were locked in a very small room, sharing a single bed. Angrest helped Siegel improve his Arabic, talked about his love of the Maccabi Haifa soccer team and day-dreamt about sharing a meal together at his parents' home and seeing a match once they're free. Siegel said he, Angrest and Miran used to pray that the Israeli military would rescue them in a daring operation. But that all changed in August when Hamas executed six hostages as Israeli troops closed in on their location. Siegel learned about it in captivity and his dreams quickly turned into nightmares. 'I was afraid that the IDF might try to rescue me and that I might be killed by the captors,' Siegel recalled. 'It's something that worries me in regards to the hostages that are still there.' He added that he believes Israel's expanding military operations now increase the threats to the hostages' lives, even as the Israeli military has pledged to take precautions to avoid harming the remaining captives. 'Hostages were killed from the war,' Siegel said. 'I think this can be avoided by getting all of the hostages back. That's the solution, to get them back – to reach an agreement that will bring them back.' Shem Tov echoed his fears. The scariest moments in captivity, he said, were when Israeli bombs fell around him, weapons he knew were powerful enough where 'your life can be taken in every moment.' 'I was scared of dying from my own people, from my own brothers,' said Shem Tov. Siegel and Shem Tov have met with US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called on both to prioritize reaching a deal to free the hostages. While the Israeli prime minister has made clear he believes defeating Hamas is more important than freeing the hostages, many hostage advocates are placing their hopes in Trump's hands. 'I am home because of his efforts,' Siegel said. 'I believe that he wants to do this and it's important to him. He has told us that. I ask him to do whatever he can and to do it as soon as possible to get an agreement secured and to get them all back.' Shem Tov also believed he was freed because of Trump's efforts. During their meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in March, Shem Tov said Trump told him 'that I have a good future ahead of me.' Shem Tov lost most than 50 pounds in captivity, he said. His food dwindled from just two pitas and some cheese daily at the beginning to a single biscuit. However, he said his treatment at the hands of Hamas improved after Trump's election, including receiving more food. Hamas also 'stopped cursing me, stopped spitting on me,' he said. He frequently talked politics with his captors and said they wanted Kamala Harris to win the US election. 'As soon as Donald Trump was elected, they understood that he wants to bring the hostages back home,' Shem Tov said.
