Omer Shem Tov spoke to AmFest on Dec. 19 after 505 days in Hamas captivity. (Fox News Digital )
"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, and (carrying) food. I can tell you, just so you know, crazy amounts of food. Amounts of food that I've never seen before," he recounted.
Hamas terrorists marching in Gaza during a parade. (Getty Images)
"Thank you, President Donald Trump, for our freedom," Shem Tov said as the crowds began breaking out into chants of "USA." "He fought for us. He brought us home."
Shem Tov told the crowds Friday in his speech that he had not prayed or spoken to God much before his capture.
"Alone in the darkness, I began to pray," he said, receiving praise from the crowd. "Every day, I spoke to Him. I whispered, ‘God, how are You? How was your day? Are you okay?" he said. "And in that darkness, I felt His presence. I thanked Him for everything. I thanked Him for everything. For the food, even when there was almost none. For the water, even when it was salty. For my life, even though it was in danger every single day."
A tribute to Charlie Kirk is shown on the Jumbotron before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in Bristol, Tennessee. (Wade Payne/AP)
"But then it reminds me what we're fighting for. It reminds me that, there is extremists … we just have to stand in front of them and and just fight for everything we've got," he continued.
Shem Tov said that he hopes his TPUSA speech and ongoing advocacy for Israel following his captivity leaves readers and listeners with the message that he and others are fighting on behalf of Western civilization in the face of terrorism.
He reflected on that message in his speech, pointing to the terror attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia that killed 15 and injured dozens of others, as well as the National Guard shooting in D.C. ahead of Thanksgiving that killed one and injured another.
"We have seen these same radical terrorists commit violence in Israel, in Europe, in Australia, and even here in the United States, including the recent attack in Washington, D.C., where two National Guardsmen were shot. This is the evil we are fighting. This is not a distant conflict," he said.
"And that is why Turning Point USA matters. Because you see the truth. And you stand for freedom," he told the crowds.
Omer Shem Tov was held in Hamas captivity for 505 days before his release in February 2025. (Fox News Digital )
Shem Tov underscored his support of Trump in his interview with Fox News Digital, explaining that he did not know much about Trump and stayed out of politics ahead of his capture beyond that he was a supporter of Israel.
"I always knew that Trump was a big supporter of Israel. And for us as Israelis, you know, we … love Trump," he said. "He supports us, he's he's a great man, I think. I I also met him nine days after I was released, like I've said, and and I can truly say that he's he's an amazing person. He really, really cared about us."
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"I personally told him that me and my family, and I would say all of Israel, believe that he was sent by God to release those hostages and to help Israel," Shem Tov recounted of what he told Trump during his meeting in February. "And he made that promise. He made that promise, he said that he will bring back all the hostages."
All hostages have been released except for the remains of slain police officer Ran Gvili. There were 168 hostages who survived in Gaza, and 83 who died. Israel released some 2,000 prisoners in October as part of a hostage exchange deal with Hamas to secure peace in the region.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ex-hamas-hostage-freed-after-505-days-gaza-tunnels-warns-evil-spreading-across-world