The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared Monday that American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra, who was thought to have been taken alive to Gaza, was in fact killed during the October 7 terror attack and his body abducted by Hamas.
Omer, who was 21 years old when he was killed, immigrated to Israel and joined the IDF as a “lone solder,” a term referring to those who join the military without any immediate family in Israel. He rose to the rank of Captain in a tank platoon in the 77th Battalion, 7th Brigade. His tank was hit by rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and other explosives in the assault, and though he and the other soldiers fought the terrorists outside the tank, they were killed.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog issued a statement:
Our hearts are with the Neutra family this morning, who, after more than a year of a determined, traumatic, and worldwide struggle, received the devastating news confirming the death of their beloved son, Captain Omer Maxim Neutra, who fell on October 7th, and his body abducted by terrorists into Gaza.
Omer was born and raised in the United States and chose to make Aliyah to Israel, and enlist in the IDF to stand in the defense of our people. After a preparatory year with the Garin Tzabar program, he service as a tank platoon commander.
Over the past year, we had the privilege of meeting his parents, Ronen and Orna, and his brother Daniel—a strong family with extraordinary resilience, who have dedicated their lives since October 7th to doing everything in their power to bring Omer home. I extend my warmest embrace to them and to all the families of the hostages enduring this horrific ordeal.
We must fulfill the ultimate imperative: to return Omer, and all our abducted men and women – the living to their families, and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest.
News of Neutra’s death came a day after Hamas released footage of another American-Israeli hostage, Eden Alexander, who is thought to be alive.
The number of living American hostages is now thought to be three: Alexander, 21; Keith Siegel, 65; and Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
