Former Israeli hostage says Hamas wanted Kamala to win, feared Trump's return
An Israeli man who was held hostage by Hamas in Gaza for more than 500 days has said that Hamas captors wanted Kamala Harris to win the 2024 US presidential election. In an interview with CNN, 22-year-old Omer Shem Tov also said that they were afraid of Donald Trump's return to power.Tov was kidnapped during the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. He was released in February this year after being held for 505 days in Gaza.advertisement"They were very scared of him," Tov said, referring to Donald Trump. "They wanted Kamala to be elected."
Tov said that after Trump was elected, his captors started treating him better. "When Trump became president, the way they treated us changed, for me personally," he told CNN's Bianna Golodryga.When asked by the interviewer if that change happened because Hamas believed a deal to release hostages would happen soon, Tov said, "Yeah."Golodryga asked, "And that's when they started giving you more food?""Exactly," Tov replied. "More food, started treating me better. Stopped cursing me. Stopped spitting on me."TOV CREDITS TRUMP FOR HELPING HOSTAGE RELEASEIn March, Tov visited the White House along with other freed hostages. During that visit, he told President Trump that he believed he was "sent by God" to save them. In the CNN interview, he said Trump played the main role in securing their freedom.advertisement"He got me out, he got the hostages out. Before, we felt like nothing was happening," Tov said.A clip of the interview was aired on CNN's "Inside Politics," where anchor Dana Bash said that it seemed like the captors were trying to "fatten up" Tov because they believed his release was near under Trump's leadership.Kamala Harris' office hasn't responded to the claims made by the now-freed Israeli hostage.As of now, about 58 people are believed to be held hostage in Gaza. Most of them were taken during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The Israeli Defense Forces said that at least 34 hostages have died. Must Watch
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