A former Israeli hostage told CNN in an interview Wednesday that his Hamas kidnapper hopes former Vice President Kamala Harris wins the 2024 election, and terrorists are "very scared" about President Donald Trump and return to office.
Omer Shem Tov, 22, was released in February after being imprisoned for 505 days in Gaza. He was arrested at the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel in the deadly terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
Tov talks about his experience and how the 2024 U.S. election is being treated by Hamas in a new interview with CNN.
"They are very afraid of him," Tof said of the kidnapper's view of Trump. "They want Kamara to be elected."
Trump's return to Gaza's family new hope
Omar Shem Tov talked with CNN on May 28, 2025 about how his terror kidnappers talk about American politics. (CNN/screenshot)
"But once Donald Trump was elected, they knew he wanted to take us home. So the way they treated me changed immediately." "When Trump became president, the way they treated us personally changed me."
"Because they expect to close a deal as soon as possible?" asked CNN's Bianna Golodryga.
"Yes," Toff replied.
"That's when they start giving you more food?" she continued.
"To be exact," TOV confirmed. "More food, start treating me better. Stop cursing me. Stop spitting."
Kamala Harris's office did not return a request for comment.
Hostages released from Gaza told Trump that he was "sent from God" to save them, but there is more to do with it
Israel's release of hostages claims his Hamas kidnappers follow the 2024 election and start treating him better after Trump's victory. (Martin's AP/Evan Vucci/Jacques)
In March, TOV visited the White House along with other recently released hostages and told the president that he believed he was "sent by God" to save them.
Tov believes Trump ensured his release in an interview with CNN.
He told Golodryga: "He took me away, he drove the hostages out. We felt nothing happened."
The clip of the interview was played on Wednesday's "Internal Politics," with host Dana Bash noting that the terrorists seemed to be trying to "come on" TOV because they think he will be released under Trump.
Omer Shem Tov, who was abducted during his fatal period on October 7, 2023, was attacked by Hamas, was held in Gaza and released in February, and was welcomed by the crowd when he returned home from the hospital from Herzliya, Israel on March 1, 2025. (Reuters)
There are still 58 hostages in Gaza, and at least 23 people are assessed to be alive.
Itay Chen, 19, Omer Neutra, 21, Judy Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband, Gadi Weinstein, 73, are both believed to have been killed by Hamas in the October 7 attack, and their bodies were taken into Gaza.
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Caitlin McFall of Fox News contributed to the report.