505 Days in Hamas Tunnels: Freed Israeli Hostage Omer Shem Tov Moves Everyone at AmericaFest 2025 | WATCH

Omer Shem Tov, who survived 505 days in Hamas captivity after being kidnapped from the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, has emerged as a prominent voice warning that Israel’s war against Hamas is part of a broader global struggle against terrorism and extremist violence.

Shem Tov, 23, spoke this week at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in Arizona, where he framed his experience as evidence that the conflict extends far beyond Israel’s borders. In his address, he described the war as “a fight between good and evil,” accusing Hamas of turning civilian infrastructure into tools of terror, starving its own population, and targeting Jews and Christians alike. He warned that the same ideology responsible for the October 7 massacre is spreading internationally.

In interviews ahead of the speech, Shem Tov recounted his captivity inside Hamas’s tunnel network beneath the Gaza Strip, where he said he was forced to dig, clean, and transport weapons and explosives. For months, he survived on minimal food, often just biscuits, despite seeing large quantities of supplies controlled by his captors. He described constant physical and psychological abuse, saying he was treated “like a slave.”

Shem Tov said he learned about the 2024 US presidential election from his captors, who followed coverage on Al Jazeera. According to him, Hamas members openly hoped for a Democratic victory and reacted with visible fear after Donald Trump was elected. He said their behavior toward him shifted afterward, including offering him more food. Shem Tov was released in February under the Trump administration.

During his speech, Shem Tov thanked Trump publicly for his role in securing the release of hostages, drawing chants of “USA” from the crowd. He also spoke about finding faith during captivity, saying daily prayer sustained him through months underground.

Since his release, Shem Tov has taken his message to conferences and university campuses, arguing that terrorism targeting Israel, Europe, Australia, and the United States stems from the same extremist ideology. He pointed to recent attacks abroad as proof that the threat is not isolated. “This is not a distant conflict,” he told the audience. “This is the evil we are fighting.”