{
  "id": 7114432,
  "title": "Former hostage Omer Shem Tov recalls loneliness, hunger, abuse during Hamas captivity",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/13/former-hostage-omer-shem-tov-recalls-loneliness-hunger-abuse-during",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-13T14:18:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-908455"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Omer Shem Tov, a former hostage, recounted his harrowing 505-day captivity by Hamas in Gaza in a recent interview with Maariv. He described the profound loneliness, intense hunger, and physical abuse endured during his 16-month imprisonment. Shem Tov was abducted from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, and held captive in Gaza before being released in February 2025. His first book, Meeting Myself in Hell, published last month, sheds light on his harrowing experiences.\n\nLoneliness was the most challenging aspect of his captivity for Shem Tov, as he had grown accustomed to sharing hardships with fellow hostage Itay Regev. When Regev was released during the November 2023 hostage-prisoner exchange, Shem Tov was left to endure the remaining 50 days of complete darkness in a cramped cell. During this period, he reported hallucinating shapes and developing a strong imagination to cope with the darkness.\n\nHunger was another significant challenge, with the prisoners receiving only half a pita or less and occasional canned meat. The smell of Gazans cooking food nearby added to the emotional turmoil. To cope, Shem Tov and Regev pretended that their meager provisions were actually meat and described their imagined meals to each other.\n\nShem Tov also spoke about physical abuse, including an incident where a terrorist beat him with a broomstick after falsely accusing him of killing a friend. Despite the trauma, Shem Tov found moments of connection with himself and God during his darkest hours. He found solace in imagining the taste of meat while eating the limited bread, and in the presence of darkness.\n\nUpon release, Shem Tov felt a mix of emotions, including a strange sense of comfort in the darkness he had once endured. However, he initially struggled to reconcile his identity with the experience. He refused to kiss a terrorist during a staged release ceremony, fearing angering his captors, but later came to understand that his actions were a result of coercion. The terrorist, Sabai Abu Hasna, was later killed by the IDF and Shin Bet in northern Gaza. Shem Tov now feels gratitude for the soldiers who fought for Israel and acknowledges that his identity is not defined by his captivity, but rather by his resilience and the support of those who fought for his freedom.",
  "summary": "“It bothers me when people tell me I’m a hero,” Shem Tov said of his release from captivity. “I don’t think I’m a hero. This was a reality that was forced on me.\"",
  "key_points": [
    "Former hostage Omer Shem Tov endured 505 days of captivity by Hamas in Gaza.",
    "He experienced profound loneliness, intense hunger, and physical abuse during his imprisonment."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}