Hostage’s Family Remains Hopeful 6 Months Into Israel-Hamas War

Hostage’s Family Remains Hopeful 6 Months Into Israel-Hamas War
Malki Shem-Tov (L) and Shelly Shem-Tov (R) discuss their son Omer's Oct. 7, 2023 kidnapping during an interview from their home in Tel Aviv, Israel on April 4, 2024. Tal Atzmon/NTD
Ryan Morgan
Kelly Wright
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Shelly Shem-Tov has kept her son’s bedroom exactly as messy as he left it on the night of Oct. 6 when he went to attend a music festival just a few miles east of the Gaza Strip. That bedroom has become a shrine of sorts; a place she visits every morning to pray and find hope for her son’s safe return.

At 21 years old, Omer Shem-Tov was among hundreds of young adults partying at the weekend-long Supernova Music Festival near the Negev Desert community of Re'im on Oct. 7 when the event came under attack by Hamas gunmen crossing over from Gaza.