Friend of Tal Shoham: ‘I don’t think there’s a greater joy’

Supporters of returning hostage Tal Soham gather at a restaurant in central Tel Aviv to watch his release.

Shoham, 40, was snatched from the home of his wife Adi’s parents in Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7, 2023, as Adi’s father and uncle were murdered. Adi and the couple’s young children Naveh and Yahel were released during the weeklong truce and hostage deal in November 2023.

Ofer Shemesh, a friend of Shoham’s, tells Kan there had been no information on the hostage since his abduction. He says Shoham’s release elicits “happiness and sadness, extreme feelings.”

“I want everyone to picture their best friend coming home,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a greater joy…It’s like a resurrection.”

Shemesh also asks to remember the Bibas family following the return of the bodies of mother Shiri and her young sons Ariel and Kfir, and the initial return of an unidentified Gazan woman instead of Shiri. “We’re completely shattered from what has happened,” he says Shemesh.

He also asks to remember slain hostage Tamir Adar, a classmate of Shoham’s. “Everyone has to return…everyone who’s left.”

Shoham’s wife Adi posted on social media a letter containing questions her children have asked about their father’s captivity. Chief among them: “When is Dad coming home?”

And others: “When dad comes home, will he be old?” “Are there other dads held hostage?”