‘I became their slave’: Israeli hostage recounts 500 days in Hamas captivity
Israel marked the third anniversary of the 7 October attacks on Wednesday with silent tributes to remember the 1,221 people killed on the deadliest day in the country's history.
Isreal's retaliatory offensive has led to the deaths of more than 74,000 people in the Gaza Strip. There have also been bloody clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Omer Shem Tov was one of the 251 hostages taken to Gaza by Hamas during the attacks. He was released on 22 February, 2025 after 505 days in captivity.
RFI: Your book recounts how you were captured at the Nova music festival along with two of your friends. Can you tell us what happened when you arrived in Gaza?
Omer Shem Tov: As we entered Gaza, I could hear people shouting and celebrating. I saw hands reaching into the back of the van, trying to grab us. Later, we arrived at a house. We stayed there for about a week. There was a family, a woman and children. They acted as if it was normal.
After 53 days, I was taken into a tunnel. The first tunnel where I was held was 40 metres underground. I stayed in a tiny, narrow cell. I was in total darkness for 50 days straight. I was starved in the most extreme way. I was given a piece of bread a day and some salty water.
After 50 days in that cell, I was moved to a slightly larger tunnel. There, most of the time, there were between four and five terrorists, sometimes more. And for 400 days, miraculously, I remained in the same place. I became their slave. I dug inside the tunnels for them. I carried bombs from one place to another. I carried massive amounts of food with my own hands – at least 500 boxes of United Nations aid.
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I cooked for them, cleaned, dug... I did everything they asked of me, and they spat on me. They cursed me. Sometimes I'd tell myself, maybe there's some humanity here. Maybe I'll try to find some sort of connection with them. I tried, I really tried, to talk to them, to make them laugh, to joke around with them. Nothing really helped.
The first week there, I went crazy. I couldn't breathe, I was in complete darkness. I was starved and I didn't know what to do. I felt like I was losing my mind. Everything in my head was so loud.
After a week, I came to a point where I told myself, OK I have two options – either I sink deeper and deeper into depression, anger and disbelief at the thought of [not] going home, or I just accept the situation. And trust God – or whoever it is – to put me on the right path.
From that day on, I really believed every second that I would go home. I had no doubt. After 505 days I was released as part of a hostage deal, in exchange for 100 terrorists. Omer Shem Tov at his parents' home near Tel Aviv.
RFI: How are you feeling today?
OST: I'm starting to feel those flashbacks coming back. A few days ago I was on vacation in Greece, a place where you're supposed to feel free. I was sitting in a restaurant when the waiter came up behind me. He had the voice of one of the terrorists who had been with me – exactly the same voice. For a split second I was scared, I panicked. I looked at him and saw it wasn't him, but it feels like being plunged right back into that moment – like you're seeing the terrorist all over again.
It's like running into him right then and there, as if everything around you changes in a heartbeat and you just freeze. You can't move and your heart is pounding out of your chest. It's something I experience almost every day. Some days are hard, some are easy. Sometimes it lasts just a second, you think about it, and then it passes. But other times you can really see it, you can really feel it. You're taken right back there, and it's... it's tough.
But I believe in the good. I believe in the light. I believe I can move forward. I don't know if 'moving forward' is the right phrase. I think I'll always live with this, but it's part of who I am, and I accept it.
RFI: What do you think about what is happening in Gaza with 74,000 people killed over the past three years? Do you feel empathy for the Palestinians in the enclave?
Of course it is hard for me to see this destruction, to see kids and women being hurt or dead. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Empathy is a big word. I don't know. I feel sad for them. It's a terrorist organisation that controls the Gaza Strip. That cannot be denied. But I think they're being brainwashed. In Gaza, you're either with Hamas or you're not. And I mean, if you're not, you're dead. That's it. So I feel bad for them. So yes, I feel empathy for the children. I feel no empathy for the terrorists. Not for a second.
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RFI: You have travelled extensively, particularly to the United States, to share your story. How has your testimony been received?
OST: At the University of Colorado, I set up a table in the middle of the campus with an Israeli flag on it. I put up a sign stating that I had spent 505 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza, inviting people to ask me anything. I was there to share my story. That's how I met this guy, Kobe, a young American, who told me he was Jewish.
Then, immediately, he started shouting at me: "You're committing genocide. What happened to you is a lie. You're the one lying. You're a liar." He was accusing me of lying, of committing genocide, of killing babies – doing all the things you see on social media. He snatched the flag off my table, [then] he pushed me away and ran off.
If there's one thing I learned in captivity, it's that I need to put my ego and my anger aside. I wasn't angry. In fact, I was actually sad seeing someone so far away from the region, who really has no idea what's happening here [behave like that].
People are saying Israel is committing genocide. I find that hard to hear, because I've seen how Hamas terrorists use people as human shields. I was underneath a school, for instance. I mean, there were so many bombs and explosives right near me. So these are accusations that I find hard to hear.
This interview was conducted by Frédérique Misslin of RFI's French service, and has been lightly edited for clarity.