The Israeli military confirmed Monday that captain Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, was killed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. His body is being held hostage in the Gaza Strip.
Neutra’s death has been confirmed 14 months after the Hamas attack. The military’s rabbinate declared his death based on new intelligence. It was previously believed that Neutra was alive and held hostage.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences to Neutra’s family and promised to return his body to Israel.
“Omer was a man of values, blessed with talents and a Zionist in every sense of the word,” said Netanyahu. “He immigrated to Israel to enlist in the IDF, chose a combat path and was chosen to command and lead.”
Netanyahu added, “Israel will not rest or be silent until we return him home for a Jewish burial, and we will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all of our hostages.”
Who was Neutra?
Omer Maxim Neutra, a “lone soldier” from New York, US, served as a tank platoon commander, according to the Israel-based news outlet The Times of Israel. His parents were not in Israel. He commanded a tank platoon in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion. His tank crew included Sgt Shaked Dahan as the driver, Sgt Nimrod Cohen as the gunner, and Sgt Oz Daniel as the loader.
From basketball team captain to Israeli army
Neutra was a Knicks fan while growing up in Long Island, New York, and served as captain of his high school basketball team, as well as the volleyball and soccer teams when needed.
Neutra postponed his plans to attend Binghamton University to join the Israeli army after spending a gap year in Israel in 2020.
His parents, Ronen and Orna Neutra, last contacted him on October 6. After learning of the October 7 attacks, Ronen Neutra repeatedly attempted to reach his son. Eventually, the family learned of his capture.
“They said that he’s been taken captive,” said Orna Neutra, as quoted by The Times of Israel. “So many have died that it’s just insane to feel relief thinking that your son is not dead, you know?” Ronen Neutra previously told CBS News that his son was interested in peace-building and planned to return to Long Island to attend college. “That’s just the kind of person he is,” said Ronen Neutra.
How was Neutra killed?
On the morning of October 7, 2023, Neutra and three other crew members were stationed in a tank near the Gaza border, by the southern community of Nahal Oz, according to The Times of Israel. They came under RPG and explosive attack during Hamas’s assault. The attack resulted in their abduction to Gaza, as widely circulated footage captured Hamas terrorists dragging the soldiers out of the smoking tank.
Neutra’s tank crew member, driver Sgt Shaked Dahan’s death was confirmed in November 2023, and loader Sgt Oz Daniel’s in February 2024. Now, after 14 months, Neutra’s death has also been confirmed. According to the IDF, all three were killed on October 7, 2023.
Other hostages held by Hamas
Of the 251 hostages Hamas abducted on October 7, 2023, an estimated 97 remain captive in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 35 confirmed dead, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Hamas released 105 civilian hostages during a week-long truce in late November 2023, after the prior release of four other hostages. Israeli troops rescued eight hostages, and the bodies of 37 hostages have been recovered, three of whom died accidentally during escape attempts, according to a report by The Times of Israel.
In addition to the October 7 hostages, Hamas also holds the remains of two IDF soldiers killed in 2014 and two Israeli civilians who entered Gaza separately in 2014 and 2015, said the report. These civilians are believed to be alive.
