A bipartisan group of lawmakers observed a moment of silence for American-Israeli Omar Neutra in the US House of Representatives on Tuesday night. It was determined to have been killed this week By Hamas on October 7, 2023, he is believed to have been alive for more than a year.
Neutra, 21, was a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and was one of the first responders to the Hamas attack that eventually killed nearly 1,200 people and initially kidnapped many more. 250 men, women and children.
His parents, Orna and Ronen, who spoke to Fox News Digital just days before the tragedy unfolded, said they believed their son was still alive after a lengthy assessment by the IDF along with another soldier from their tank, Nimrod Cohen. Taken hostage to Gaza and survived.
A picture of Omar Neutra is displayed at his memorial service at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, NY on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo) (AP Photo/Philip Marcelo)
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“For 420 days, Omar’s parents and his brother Daniel have done everything they could, along with the love and support of hundreds of thousands of others, to free their son from captivity,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, DN.Y., who represents the Neutra family’s district. , said from the House floor. “Every day he struggled through alternate deep sorrow and brief bursts of hope. He went from anxiety to steely determination.
“A few days ago we learned that this brave young man, this bright light, this courageous idealist, made the ultimate sacrifice,” Suozzi continued. “Omar was not alive for the last 422 days, he was murdered on October 7.”
Footage of the attack on Omar’s tank showed the commander and three others, Shaked Dahan, Oz Daniel and Nimrod Cohen, being dragged from a military vehicle. Hamas terrorists and prisoners.
Daniel and Dahan were previously presumed killed after the attack, and according to the IDF, intelligence indicated that Omar, a descendant of one of the Holocaust survivors, was also killed on October 7. 2023.
Syosset, NY: Daniel Neutra, brother of Omar Neutra, father Ronen Neutra and mother Orna Neutra speak during a memorial service for Israeli-American Omar Neutra who was killed by Hamas militants on December 3, 2024 at the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York. (Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
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The Israeli military has not said how it came by this new information, and Cohen’s fate is unknown.
Ronen, Omar’s father, who celebrated his bar mitzvah years ago at Omar’s memorial service Tuesday at a Long Island synagogue, said the news left him “breathless and empty.”
“For a year now, we have been bringing your existence to life, my beautiful boy,” Orna said through tears, according to reports. “With the hope and love of so many, we kept going and going, keeping you alive, speaking your name from every outlet, pushing away any hint of despair, not breathing or taking the deep pain of your absence.”
“Now things are clear,” she said It is reported that 1,500 people participated in service. “But not as we expected.”
Onra and Ronen described their son as a loving, good friend and athlete, but they also highlighted his ability to lead and how his actions on October 7, 2023, saved lives.
Omar’s body is believed to be held by Hamas along with six other American hostages, only three of whom are judged by the IDF to be alive at this time, Edan Alexander, Sagui Deckel-Chen and Keith Siegel.
Hersh Goldberg-Pollin’s body was discovered along with five others killed by Hamas in tunnels in Gaza in August.
These are the American hostages captured by Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023 and held in Gaza, only to be returned to Israel after the IDF killed them and the other hostages. Alongside Hersh are Itai Chen, Sagi Deckel-Chen, Eden Alexander, Omar Neutra, Gadi Haggai and Judy Weinstein Haggai and Keith Siegel. (Fox News photo)
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There are more 100 hostages by Hamas in Gaza After the body of Itai Svirsky was recovered on Wednesday, an Israeli hostage during the attack on Kibbutz Beeri on October 7, 2023.
The IDF confirmed that he was “killed in captivity by his captors and his body held hostage in the Gaza Strip.”
