Banai disappeared after paddleboarding off the Ginosar beach, entering the water around noon. Strong westerly winds likely swept him away after he fell from his board, with his paddleboard discovered at 1:00 p.m. with a torn rope, though no trace of him remained.
Hundreds of volunteers joined police, maritime units, rescue divers, an air force helicopter, Fire and Rescue teams and Igud Arim Kinneret inspectors in the search effort, which concluded with maritime police recovering his body, identified by family members present at the scene.
Mia, his older sister, told Ynet on Thursday, “There was a strong westerly wind, and he drifted west and north. We’ve been searching since yesterday afternoon, all night—with helicopters, drones, jet skis, dog units and divers. Many of Shlomi’s friends are here, each scanning a different area.
“He went on a vacation with his wife, who’s eight months pregnant, just before their second son’s birth. It all happened in a moment.” She recalled their last conversation: “I gave him a lift from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and we talked about a movie. I jokingly told him to be careful because the Kinneret is dangerous—that was our last talk.
“It’s the irony of fate. Shlomi was always optimistic with a big smile.” She added that he and his wife opened “Naomi Café,” a ceramics workshop-integrated coffee shop, in the past year. “He handled the café, she did the ceramics. He was swamped, with no time for paddleboarding—that was his hobby.”
His close friend Ze’ev said on Thursday, “He was last seen paddleboarding yesterday afternoon. Then he vanished. This is a classic disappearance case in the Sea of Galilee. We friends haven’t stopped searching with the police. Shlomi was a fighter at heart, a principled man who served in the reserves and contributed to the country. A great guy, a friend to all. It’s hard to process.”
