"On the 50th day, when I was on the verge of complete despair, after five days in total darkness, when all I had left to eat was one biscuit a day with a little salty water to drink, I screamed to God to get me out of there because I couldn't take it anymore," released hostage Omer Shem Tov told crowds at a rally in Herzliya on Thursday night.
"Five minutes later, my captor came and told me I was being moved to another place."
Shem Tov was held hostage in Gaza before being released last month after 505 days.
He appeared alongside his friends Maya and Itay Regev, who were held with him before they were released in November 2023. Since his kidnapping, a rally has been held every Thursday at the Dancers' Square in his hometown of Herzliya, but on Thursday, Omer attended himself, and removed his portrait together with Maya and Itay.
"The last time I stood on a stage was on Hamas's stage, so forgive me if I'm emotional about this moment," he began by saying.
"After Itay was returned, I felt very lonely," he said. "I was transferred to a tunnel 40 meters deep, alone, in a closed cell for 50 days, with little food and no light. I had a flashlight that I found, and I used it for a few minutes each day so the battery wouldn't run out.
The tunnel he was transferred to next was slightly better than the previous. As Shem Tov told the crowd, "Even in tunnels - there's a bad situation, and there's a very bad situation."
"Thank God, in the new tunnel I had light, and the amount of food increased."
He spent the next 400 days there alone and dreamt about what he would do if he were ever released.
Bring them home
Since his release, he said his main priority is advocating for the remaining hostages. "I know what they're feeling, and I understand how urgent it is to get them out of the hell they're in," he said. "Every day there, it's unclear if you'll remain alive or die from hunger or physical and mental abuse. We must get everyone out of there – the living for rehabilitation, and the deceased for burial."
He thanked his family, his friends, and God for sustaining him during his captivity.
"For over a year I was alone, and I'm now learning to adjust to a new unfamiliar life," he said. "Blessed is He who has kept us alive, sustained us, and brought us to this time."
"I am Omer Shem Tov, and I am free."