Ex-Hamas hostage freed after 505 days in Gaza tunnels warns 'evil is spreading' across the world
Omer Shem Tov spent 505 days in Hamas captivity after he was captured at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, living in the terrorist group's elaborate...
By Fox News · Fox News
Omer Shem Tov spent 505 days in Hamas captivity after he was captured at the Nova Music Festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, living in the terrorist group's elaborate tunnel system under the Gaza Strip before President Donald Trump assisted in his release. Now, the Israeli is a free man and delivered a speech at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Arizona, championing his message that the war in Israel is a war of good versus evil that is spreading across the world. The event has drawn widespread attention and support among conservatives following the tragic September assassination of its founder, Charlie Kirk. "This fight is between good and evil. A fight against terrorists will turn hospitals into torture chambers, schools into military bases," he said. "Who starve their own people. Who murder young people at a music festival. Who kill Jews because they are Jewish, and Christians because they are Christian. This evil is spreading." Shem Tov spoke to Fox Digital in a Zoom interview ahead of his speech, previewing that it would underscore that the war in Israel is a growing war on Western civilization overall, pointing to horrific attacks such as the fatal National Guard shooting in November in Washington, D.C. He also recounted his 505 days in Hamas captivity in the reflective interview and eventual release in February under the Trump administration. TRUMP'S ELECTION WIN FILLED HAMAS WITH 'FEAR,' HOSTAGE HELD LIKE 'SLAVE' FOR 505 DAYS RECOUNTS "As soon as Trump was elected, I saw the fear in their eyes," Shem Tov said of Hamas following the U.S. election in November 2024. "They knew that everything on ground is gonna change, that something else is gonna happen, and they were scared. They were very scared." Shem Tov said that for roughly the last five months of his captivity, he lived in Hamas’ tunnel system beneath the Gaza Strip, where he was worked mercilessly. "I was digging for them, and I was cleaning for them, and I was moving around bombs from place to places…