Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:07] Speaker B: 505 Dache in Gaza.
Hellmet Omer, welcome in our studio. It's a pleasure to have you here. So can you tell me about yourself? You came to the Netherlands for this week for a few.
For a few lectures. Who is Omar Venkart?
[00:00:36] Speaker A: So my name is Omar Wenkert. As he said. I'm 24 years old and 7th of October 2023 I was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists from the Nova party.
I've been in captivity for 505 days underground and it was 197 days alone.
And today I can tell about myself that just happy and proud of myself, my family, my friends, of my country.
And this is who I am.
[00:01:10] Speaker B: Yeah. So what about yourself? The person whom Omer Venkart was before 7th of October 2023, was it a different person?
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Yeah, actually it was a very different person.
Before 7th October 2023, I was a restaurant manager. Chef. Restaurant manager in Israel.
This was like my career, you know, I worked like 350 hours per month.
[00:01:41] Speaker B: Yeah, this was your passion.
[00:01:42] Speaker A: Yeah, it was my passion. It's still my passion on this business. But today this is the first thing I'm talking about when people ask me what changed in captivity. So before captivity I was a restaurant manager. So I was working all week and you know, I didn't have quality time with my family, with my friends and you know, like, work was like my career was the most important thing about my life. And today I can tell you my biggest dream is to be a father, you know.
[00:02:16] Speaker B: So your priorities changes?
[00:02:17] Speaker A: Yeah, my priorities changes. You know, my first priority is my family and my friends, my girlfriend, you know, have a quality time with all of them. And actually my biggest dream is, you know, to be a family guy. Not a real family guy. Not the one who worked all day and you have kids at home.
[00:02:35] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:02:35] Speaker A: The real one, yeah.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: So can you tell me, can you take me back to the 7th of October 2023, which is more than 700 days ago now, what happened on this day?
[00:02:47] Speaker A: In your perspective, what happened? In my perspective, I can't tell what really happened in all of Israel. And actually I could never gonna know what happened in the 7th of October.
You know, it's big.
It's maybe the biggest event that the country ever experienced.
But what happened to me, it's, you know, I just go to celebrate in a party. It's my old good friend Kim Dum Ti May rest in peace.
And around 6:30, Hamas started sending missiles to Israel. So we ran away from the party and we Arrived to Reim Junction.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: This was the Nova Festival.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I was in the Nova Festival. The Nova Festival was in Reim forest. And we ran away from the forest when the missile started. And we ran, you know, we searched for like a safe zone from the missiles for some shelter.
And we arrived to Rame Junction. It's three minutes drive from the festival and Reim junction there is a shelter. So we go into the shelter and after 40 minutes the terrorists arrive to the junction, to our shelter.
They threw like six or seven grenades into the shelter.
One of the terrorists get in and shoot us, the whole magazine on us inside the shelter. We were 40 people in the shelter. And after 20 minutes they started to try to set us on fire, like they burned us alive.
They put some gas on the bodies in the enter of the shelter, set them on fire.
After 40 minutes I decided to go out of the shelter because I just couldn't suffer anymore.
So I decided to, you know, I understand this is the day that my life is going to end.
[00:04:43] Speaker B: This was the realization that you had. Do you have any idea what was actually happening?
[00:04:51] Speaker A: Not actually, no.
I can tell you that at this point I have no clue about what happened in Israel. I know there is some terrorists. I don't know how much I can tell you the first time I know there is more hostages in Gaza after 50 days, you know, in the first 50 days I thought it's only me and Liam and four Thailands who've been with me. And only in the first deal I discovered what happened in Israel.
[00:05:18] Speaker B: Yeah, so you were in the shelter and you wanted. You tried to get out and what happened next?
[00:05:22] Speaker A: Yeah, so I decided to go out. I accepted my death this day. I understand that I'm not going to end this day alive.
So I decided to stop my suffering.
You know, I'm very hot and almost unconscious.
They threw seven grenades and I'm very, very weak.
And I really accepted that this is my last day. So I decided to stop my suffer, couldn't suffer anymore.
And I decided I'm not gonna burn the life and I'm not just gonna slow explode by a grenade.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: No.
[00:06:00] Speaker A: So, and I know that everybody go out of the shelter get shot by a Hamas terrorist. So I decided to go out of the shelter.
[00:06:08] Speaker B: But nevertheless you did it. And what happened next?
[00:06:11] Speaker A: Yeah, I got out of the shelter and then I looked at the junction and I saw I think 30 or 40 terrorists and a lot of bodies in the junction. And just in front of me was I think seven Hamas terrorists with the weapons and like pointed the weapons on me. And one of them waved with the weapon to the sky. He pointed on the weapon and told me, no, come here.
And this is the moment that I realized that I'm gonna be taken, I'm gonna kidnap.
And one of them come, just go walk from me.
And he took my clothes off, he tied my hand behind my back, and he put me on a track.
And we started driving to Gaza.
And after 10 minutes, we crossed the borderline and hundreds of civilians of the Gaza just ran to the truck, started lynching me with sticks, with iron sticks. Rocks were thrown on me, even phones were thrown on me.
[00:07:22] Speaker B: You saw what was happening?
[00:07:24] Speaker A: Yeah, I saw like hundreds of civilians from 2 years old baby on his father's shoulder to 18 years old guy, just everybody hitting me and lynching me.
And after 15 minutes, we arrived to a hospital. I've been in a hospital for I think maybe 20 minutes, maybe a bit longer. Then they put me in another track. We started driving Gaza.
And then, you know, I get to the point that I've seen the. Seen the beach just right in front of me. I've seen the sea.
And, you know, suddenly we take the right turn. They took me out of the truck. They put me in a big hangar with the hole in the ground.
They took a picture of me. This is my famous picture, my kidnapped picture, that I'm just laying on the ground about my stomach, tied with my hand behind my back and looked at the camera.
Then they took me up, turn around, and I see the entrance to the tunnel.
And this is the first time they took me underground until my last day.
[00:08:35] Speaker B: So that's the moment that you went down and for 505 days you stayed in the tunnel. And did you realize at this moment what was actually happening to you, that this was really happening?
[00:08:48] Speaker A: Yeah, I did realize.
I can tell you the first thing I told myself at this moment, that it took me underground for the first time until my last day. The first thing that I told myself, it's Omer, this is your life now.
You have nothing to do with the fact that you are kept by Hamas hands.
Be prepared for the worst, because your family is waiting for you at the end of the road.
[00:09:10] Speaker B: But how do you prepare for the worst?
[00:09:14] Speaker A: I imagined really, the worst, really.
Like I imagined that I'm gonna be in the completely dark all the time. I'm not gonna eat, I'm gonna hit me 24, 7.
At this moment, I was still alone. So I told myself, you're gonna be alone, be prepared for it. You're not gonna talk with anyone by bad Hamas terrorists.
And I'm really told to myself that I'm gonna do it because my family is waiting for me in the end of the road. And it doesn't matter if it's gonna be like two months or 15 years, I'm gonna come back to my family.
[00:09:59] Speaker B: Tell me about the time that followed the months after it.
[00:10:03] Speaker A: Damn.
Okay, so at the 7th of October I met Liam Orr. Liam Orr, it's a 18 year old kid who was taken from his own bed in his apartment in Kibbutz Rheim. And four Thai people live in Reim, also worked in Reim.
So I met them in the 7th of October.
The first three days we were in a very, very, very small room, like tiny room underground.
And all that happened in the first three days that the Hamasterer is just beating us up, really beating us up with the weapon to the face, to the legs, to the ribs and stepped on us and speed on us, just beating us up. And we tied with the hands behind our back.
Lian was also blindfolded.
I am still in my underwear.
And after three days they took us to a bigger room underground.
They untied us. And this is the first time me and Liam capable to talk with each other.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: So what did you say to each other?
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Yeah, the first thing that Liam told me, he took my hand and he told me, be strong brother.
And I looked at him and you know, I was laying down when he told me this and like sitting on and I looked to the eyes and I told him, don't lose your hope because we're going to end up home, remember it.
And me and Liam, Liam been with me for 54 days. The Thailand's been 50 days. And then after 54 days, Liam come back home.
We had a really, really high morale together because we really felt strong together. We felt like if we are going to be together, we can do everything together.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: But after 54 days, this ended for you.
[00:11:57] Speaker A: Yeah, they took Liam and after this I was 197 days alone, completely alone.
Like Hamaster really abandoned me. They come into my room, into my tunnel for like one time a day. I'm not allowed to speak with them, even a word, I'm not allowed. At some point they forbidden me from like look at them.
[00:12:25] Speaker B: But on a practical level. Did they bring your food? How did you go to the toilet? What happened there?
[00:12:32] Speaker A: I ate for one time a day or two times a day.
Very, very, very little amount of food. Like it was from a half pita to One pita a day, maybe very good days, two pitas a day. Can tell you I lost the official number.
It's 38kg of my body weight in captivity. But I can tell you in the deal the last month, they fed me up because I was very lean.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: So actually it was even more the weight loss.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: It was I think like 7, maybe 8 kg less than what I lost.
I believe that at some point in captivity I was like 50% of the body weight that I kidnapped on the 7th of October, practically. We're talking about a tunnel that it wide like 1 meter, maybe less, 8 meters long.
I'm sleeping in the middle of a tunnel. I'm not allowed to go around the corner.
And in the end of the tunnel there is a hole to my needs.
Like I'm sleeping three meters from the hole that I'm doing my needs in there. And like it's an open hole.
I was a lot of time in the dark again, completely alone for 24 hours.
I'm seeing human being, not even talking with person. I just see a person for one time to two times a day for like 3:30 seconds each time.
And they bring me, they put the food on the ground, they give me like pitta with the fungis and you know, water, Yeah, I get water, but actually I drink so little because, you know, I'm afraid I'm not gonna slack without water. So always took a bottle of water and I hide it from them that they thought that I don't have water.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: To bring them up some extra.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Yeah, I always have extra, but you know, also from the extra, it's my like, it's like my.
It's for my safe, you know, for me to feel that I have water. So I didn't touch the extra. And they bring me between 500ml to 700 each day.
There is days that I get more, There is days I didn't get even 100 milliliters of water.
[00:15:18] Speaker B: So in all this time that you were kidnapped in Gaza, did you never talk to the captors, to the terrorists?
[00:15:27] Speaker A: Yes.
After like six months in captivity, they started talk with me a bit more because they want like explore the culture of the Israeli people, of the Jewish religions.
So they asked me a question about my life, about Israel, about our religions.
But it wasn't like empathic conversation really. I didn't see even a clue for empathy in Gaza.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: How did you communicate with them? In Hebrew or in Arabic?
[00:16:05] Speaker A: No, the first 16 days there was one guard who was speaking English, so I learned a bit Arabic from him.
And then I was for 28 days with the guy who speak very good Hebrew. And it really surprised me, but he really speaks very good Hebrew. So I learned from him more Arabic.
And then my crew is switched and all the new guards didn't know even a word. Not in English, not in Hebrew.
[00:16:36] Speaker B: Only Arabic.
[00:16:37] Speaker A: Yeah, only Arabic. So at the beginning it was very, very, very hard. But after I think seven, eight months in captivity, maybe 10 months in captivity, I like knew Arabic pretty good actually.
[00:16:49] Speaker B: You learned it in captivity?
[00:16:50] Speaker A: Yeah. Now I'm speaking Arabic.
[00:16:53] Speaker B: Yeah. So what did you talk about with these people? Did you also ask them questions?
[00:16:58] Speaker A: I asked them questions, but they not really answering me. And if they choose to answer, it's like made up, you know, made up stuff about Israel, about all the history of Palestine and Israel. The Gaza people were here when we were here and the Israelis sent us and all of the narrative that they, you know, heard about since they 1 years old, like.
But we didn't really talk with each other.
But after 250 days, Gaya, Igilbaddalal, Vetard David and Tal Sham joined to my tunnel.
[00:17:44] Speaker B: So when we were four kidnapped guys. Yeah, we're still there.
[00:17:49] Speaker A: Ghaigul Badala and Vatada is still in Gaza, still hostages in Gaza. And me and Tal was released in the same. Were released in the same day.
But after they joined to my tunnel, the guards started to talk with us a bit more.
So when I was alone, they really abandoned me. They don't talk me about everything, just ignore with the fact that there is some human being just in the tunnel beside them.
But after they joined me, we started to speak with our captives.
Sorry, we started to speak with our.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: Guards a bit more then meanwhile, when you were in the tunnels, kidnapped and isolated from the whole world, a few mates above you, that there was a war happening. Did you have any idea what was happening above the ground?
[00:18:43] Speaker A: Okay, it's complicated question because Hamas always told me that there is still war upstairs. So yeah, I was familiar with the fact that yeah, there is war just upground and maybe even up, you know, above my head.
[00:19:01] Speaker B: Did you hear the bombings also?
[00:19:02] Speaker A: Yeah, from. I hear the bombs.
You know, when the.
The first time in the captivity, in the beginning of the war, yeah, I heard a lot of bombs, A lot of bombs.
But the weeks went by and I heard less bombs and less and less. And since March 2024, I didn't even hear like one bomb. So the first question I asked tale of your tower and guy. When they joined me in June There is still war upstairs there. Because I didn't hear anything. And he looked at me like, yeah, you don't know what you're talking about. Like a huge war.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. So the realization that you have been for such a long time, I think maybe you lost also count of the days that you were under the ground.
[00:19:50] Speaker A: No, actually I know every day. What is the date, what day is today, and how many days I am in captivity.
I keep tracking all the time. It was the most important things for me to know how many times I'm in captivity, how many days I'm in captivity.
Because I understand if I lost the count, if I, you know, stop tracking.
This is the, like the recipe to. To getting crazy for me.
[00:20:19] Speaker B: Yeah. So it was a way to. To keep sane.
[00:20:23] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Actually it was like the way for me to protect my soul. I really saw it like this to protect my mental health.
[00:20:31] Speaker B: Yeah. Did the terrorist also mentally or physically abuse you?
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Yeah, in the beginning it was very hard. The first days was very, very hard.
And, you know, the weeks went by and was just abandoned me. You know, we can. I was in a narrow tunnel, alone. They don't speak with me. They ignoring with the fact that I'm there.
So only this.
It's like a mental abusing.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: But so talking about mental and physical abuse of the terrorist to you, how did you cope with that? Because you were alone for a very long period.
How does that work?
[00:21:16] Speaker A: It was tough.
I can tell you that. After the IDF getting to Rafah, one of my guards decided to start abusing me every day.
You know, it started with starving, then abusing, humiliation.
He started hitting me at some point, first with his hands, then he started kicking me. Then he bring an iron stick and started hitting me in my head, my shoulders, all of my body for days.
And actually after 40 or 40, I think it was 42 days that he really abusing me.
He just get into the tunnel and told me, I'm gonna abuse you.
It was like he came with a newspaper for me.
Just for you to know I'm gonna abuse you. Be prepared.
[00:22:15] Speaker B: How do you keep hope, you know, when this is happening, like day after day after day?
[00:22:21] Speaker A: I have no really answer for this. I just really.
Okay, after three days in captivity, I understand that the gas and the motor for me to keep struggle to take myself home first, it's the hope.
I can't lose my hope.
I need to be full of hope that I'm going back home no matter what. The second thing, it's truly believe 100% no doubt it. That I'm going back home because I can't hope for something I don't believe in.
So I just keep. To feed up the believing of coming back home.
[00:23:09] Speaker B: To keep it alive.
[00:23:10] Speaker A: Yeah, to don't lose my hope.
And it's actually really worked for me. So even at this point, I can tell you that there was major breaking point for me in captivity, but I still always remember that I'm going back home no matter what. Even if it's Tomorrow morning or 15 years from now, I'm going back home.
[00:23:35] Speaker B: After 505 days.
That was the moment that you were released from your captivity, from the kidnapping. So what was the moment that you realized, wait, I'm going home. It's actually happening today.
[00:23:49] Speaker A: What was the moment? Actually, I doubted until the second that I saw the Red Cross van.
Because the first deal in November 2023, when Liam, you know, just. They took him from me, they told me that I'm going back home also. But, you know, like, it didn't happen for two, three days from today, maybe one week. And then I waited for 451 days since the day.
So I doubled it until I saw the Red Cross van.
But, you know, the morning, Saturday morning, the 22nd of February, and they come to move our tunnel, told us, come on, we're going home. You are going home.
So I felt it. You know, I still doubt it, but I really felt it.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: This was different.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Yeah, it really was different. I was really excited and I felt.
I already felt my family, my parents, my freedom.
So I still doubt it, but I felt it.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Yeah. So then you went out of Gaza with the Red Cross. You met also the people from the Israeli army?
[00:25:04] Speaker A: No, actually, I don't go like the Red Cross don't cross the borderline with me. They bring me to Netzarim in Netzerim.
[00:25:16] Speaker B: And there you changed to the idf?
[00:25:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. The IDF took me from the Red Cross and with IDF across the borderline to Rain Base, Rainbase.
I saw my father and my mother for the first time, my parents for the first time after 505 days. And this is really a moment that I just can't describe with words.
So powerful feelings that I didn't even determine, you know, people can even feel them, you know, it was amazing. Really amazing moment.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: So you met your family after 505 days. And as you say, it's of course, amazing. And the whole world was also watching what was happening there. Also many Christians also from the people who are watching this show. They prayed for the hostages, they Prayed for you. So how does it make you feel right now? Because now you didn't choose it, but you became famous because of what happened to you. So what is your motivation now? How do you continue your life?
[00:26:24] Speaker A: Actually, first, I'm full of, you know, I'm really thankful about everything and, you know, I'm kind of famous, just like you said. But, you know, people just don't push it. You know, it's really gentle and it's making me feel really good because people come to me in the street to like, support me and to take a support from me. And it's really beautiful moment to see it in Israel. The Israeli people really, they truly connected to the story.
They really know me.
And it's very beautiful thing for me and I really, really like it.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:03] Speaker A: And, you know, it's make me really believe that Israel as a country, we are, you know, as all the Israeli people, we can get up from this major experience and event that we've been through. And still, you know, we still experience the trauma because there's still hostages who.
[00:27:30] Speaker B: Are still in Gaza.
[00:27:31] Speaker A: Yeah, there are still hostages in Gaza. There are still soldiers who fight in Gaza. And most of the Israeli people just want it to end. Everybody come back home and we say, you know, these days we say everybody, and it's not only the hostages, even the soldiers just want to end this war and come back to their family to live our life. You know, I want to say our peace, peaceful life. But in Israel, it's never peaceful. But just get back to our life.
[00:28:01] Speaker B: Yeah. And you travel around the world also now in the Netherlands, you are to tell your story. Do you do this because you think there is not enough attention for the fate of the hostages?
[00:28:14] Speaker A: First of all? Yeah, I think it's very, very, very important that people around the world heard our story. And it's not only my, you know, myself, the story about myself, about what I've been through, the story of Israel, I really say it like this, the story of our country.
So it's very important to, you know, explain this experience to people in the world. Really pay attention to this, be aware.
It's very important, the fact that, you know, the first reason I do it, it's all of the ostriches who are still there, you know, to bring them back home.
And also I'm doing lectures also in Israel and around the world because it's part of my rehabilitation and part of my healing. It's making me feel a lot better and improve my mental health and, you know, improve my process to be able.
[00:29:12] Speaker B: To share it with people.
[00:29:13] Speaker A: Yeah, because, you know, I'm sharing my story, and then people go out of my lectures and they feel stronger. And it's given me, you know, my experience.
It's now meaningful and not meaningless. You know, it really give me some meaning about what I've been through, and it's amazing for me.
[00:29:36] Speaker B: So what would be your message to the people who are watching this interview? What can we do? What is your message to us?
[00:29:43] Speaker A: The first message, it's really to be aware and not hear one opinion and just stick with it, because this is what you hear. And it's horrible. Everything. It's horrible. You need to know about everything, what you can do.
Just take my story or hostages. Story or story you heard from the 7th of October or from the war and spread it. Will it? Spread it? Talk about my story. You see it now. Talk about it tomorrow morning in the work. Talk about it in your home. Talk about it with your family, with your colleagues, with everyone. You can talk about it. It's important that people understand that Hamas, it's not a, you know, like freedom army, like they say. This is a terror organization, maybe the most evil in the world. And we don't talk about freedom. We talk about pure evil.
[00:30:41] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:30:42] Speaker A: And it's important to everyone, and it's.
[00:30:44] Speaker B: Important to talk about it.
[00:30:45] Speaker A: Yeah, of course.
[00:30:46] Speaker B: And thank you so much that you wanted to talk about it.
Thank you for coming to our studio.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:31:22] Speaker B: Sa.
