Former Hamas hostage Omer Shem-Tov met today (Tuesday) with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. During the meeting, both men issued a heartfelt call for the immediate return of the remaining 59 hostages still held in Gaza and urged the Israeli public to resist division and disunity.
We Have to See Them Home
President Herzog emphasized the urgent need to bring back the captives, saying, “Every time we’re in conflict, every time decisions pull us into internal turmoil, it tears us apart. It’s incredibly dangerous. We have brothers and sisters trapped 40 meters underground. How can anyone breathe at that depth? We must see them home, and we must do everything we can until the very last one of them returns.”
Unity, Unity, Unity
Shem-Tov made a personal plea to the people of Israel. “We have to bring everyone home,” he said. “If there’s one thing I can ask of the Israeli people, it’s unity, unity, unity. That’s also the message my mother held onto throughout this entire ordeal. When we were in captivity and the TV was on, they showed the division among Israelis. They portrayed it in the most extreme way. And that gave them strength. They talk about Israel collapsing from within. That’s what fuels them.”
Shem-Tov was kidnapped from the Nova music festival and held captive in Gaza for 505 days. His parents, Malchi and Sheli, campaigned tirelessly for his release, becoming symbols of perseverance and hope throughout Israel.
Sheli, who also attended today’s meeting, echoed her son’s message: “I’ve always said that our beauty lies in our diversity, but our strength is in our unity. And Omer told me that when they [the captors] see us fighting among ourselves, that’s their fuel to keep going.”
