The family are residents of Herzliya in central Israel. They say 20-year-old Omer Shemtov was at a music festival on the morning of October 7 when he heard an air-raid siren. He was at a location near the border with the Gaza Strip, from where he called his family to tell them he was returning home.
Omer shared his location via smartphone in case of an emergency. But his family soon lost contact with him. When they located him once again, they discovered that he was in the Gaza Strip.
That night, his older brother Amit Shemtov saw a video Hamas released on social media. He says it shows Omer tied up and lying in the bed of a pickup truck. He is convinced that it is his younger brother because of the clothes and the tattoos on the person's arms.
Two days later, an Israeli government official told the family that Omer had been kidnapped and was in the Gaza Strip.
'Bring Omer home'
Amit and other family members now wear T-shirts featuring photos of Omer and the words "Bring Omer home" in English and Hebrew.
And they refuse to give up hope. Amit says it's in the interests of Hamas to keep hostages alive, adding that he believes Israeli forces will soon launch a ground offensive aimed at minimizing casualties.
Ahead of Biden's visit to Israel, Amit said. "I hope he will put pressure on Hamas to release the hostages. I want nothing more than for my brother and all the others to return home safely."
On October 15, Omer's mother Shelly and other people who have seen their loved ones captured by Hamas met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"He said he would do everything in his power to bring the hostages back," she says.
"Our sweet, youngest son is like the sun for us. His room is a mess, so I will give him a pat on the behind and tell him to clean it up when he comes home."
