In Israel, Omer Shem Tov recounts 505 days in Hamas captivity
In Israel, former hostage Omer Shem Tov spoke about the loneliness, hunger and physical abuse that he said he endured during 505 days of captivity in Gaza by Hamas militants. He was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and released in February 2025 along with Eliya Cohen and Omer Wenkert.
Shem Tov spoke about his experience in an interview with Maariv, reported by the Jerusalem Post. The conversation took place after the release of his book, “Meeting Myself in Hell,” in which he describes 16 months of captivity.
Isolation and hunger
According to Shem Tov, loneliness was the hardest ordeal. At first, he was held together with Itay Regev, who was released along with his sister Maya Regev during a hostage-prisoner exchange in November 2023. After being separated from Regev, Shem Tov said he went through one of the most difficult periods of his captivity.
He said he spent 50 days alone in complete darkness in a cell where he could not fully straighten up. During the first days, he felt intense anxiety and suffocation, but later began to get used to the darkness. Once, a small flashlight fell out of one of the captors’ pockets, which Shem Tov hid and briefly switched on every day to make sure he could still see.
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He also described a lack of food: the hostages were given about half a pita or less, and sometimes a little canned meat. When food was being prepared nearby, they could smell meat and imagined that pieces of pita were chicken, kebab or shashlik.
Release and life after captivity
Shem Tov said that he was also subjected to physical abuse. He recalled an incident in a tunnel when one of the captors told him about the death of his friend and then beat him on the legs with a broom handle.
Before being handed over to the Red Cross, Hamas forced the three hostages to take part in a staged release ceremony. Shem Tov said he was forced to kiss Sabaya Abu Hasna, a member of the Nukhba unit who took part in holding him captive, on the head. After reuniting with his parents, he feared that Israelis would view this as betrayal, but later understood that people recognized the coercive nature of his actions.
According to the publication, Abu Hasna was killed by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service in June 2026 in northern Gaza. Shem Tov also noted that captivity still reminds him of itself through the sounds of fighter jets, fireworks and loud explosions. After his release, he traveled, gave lectures, studied and completed an acting course in New York.
