IDF Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, died on October 7 of last year, and his body was taken by Hamas to Gaza, the IDF confirmed on Monday.New intelligence that came to light allowed a special military commission of rabbis, scientists, and lawyers to finally confirm his death around 14 months later, despite long-standing suspicions that he was dead.
Neutra was a lone soldier from New York, serving as a tank platoon commander in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade.
He was abducted to Gaza along with members of his tank crew. Tank gunner Nimrod Cohen from Rehovot, who is currently held in Gaza, tank loader Oz Daniel from Kfar Saba, and driver Shaked Dahan from Afula, whom the IDF has confirmed as killed in Hamas captivity, were among Neutra’s crew.
Hostage deal
On Sunday, Neutra’s parents spoke with The Jerusalem Post about the possibility of a hostage deal during President-elect Donald Trump’s candidacy.
“He’s a deal maker. He’s done it before,” Ronen Neutra, Omer’s father, said.
“We’re just hoping that he uses his leverage. You know, each side has their own leverages,” Orna Neutra, Omer’s mother, said, adding, “We’re hoping that the combined effort will finally make something move.”
“Omer loved sports, played soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and served as captain of his school’s sports teams,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said of him.
“His family and friends described him as a warm, optimistic, and people-loving person who ‘lights up the room the moment he enters,’” the forum added.
Neutra’s “bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Garin Tzabar, the program through which Neutra enlisted, said of him.
“We will continue to demand that Omer is brought home to be laid to rest in the land he fought to defend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this unimaginable time,” the program further noted.
Hamas is currently holding around 50 live and 50 dead hostages of the original 250 it kidnapped. Around 80 were returned in a hostage deal in November 2023, another eight were rescued, and many others were killed and some of their bodies were recovered.
Ceasefire violation
Hezbollah on Monday afternoon fired two mortars at open areas of Mount Dov on the Golan Heights, its first significant ceasefire violation, though the group has tested the IDF’s closure of southern Lebanon a number of times.
At the same time, Lebanon, France, and, on Monday, reportedly also US envoy Amos Hochstein, have accused Israel of various violations of the ceasefire.
The IDF has killed several Hezbollah fighters and bombed a small number of Hezbollah rocket cell positions, but has said that it only did so in instances when the terror group posed a threat to Israeli forces or tried to break through into southern Lebanon.
Under the terms of the November 26 ceasefire, the IDF must withdraw from southern Lebanon by the end of January, but there is no specific earlier set date to start the withdrawal and the entire deal is subject to Hezbollah’s compliance with the ceasefire.
Firing two mortar shells – Hezbollah’s weakest weapons – at an open area was not expected to end the deal, but it did highlight the fragility and ongoing tensions even several days into the agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi, Defense Minister Israel Katz, top opposition figures Benny Gantz and Yair Golan, and a variety of other officials across the political spectrum said the IDF would strike back and with intensity.
Collectively, the statements made the point that Israel is not going to return to a pre-October 7, 2023 reality where it tolerated “small” rocket attacks on its border villages in the North and the South.
Separately, Hamas fired a rocket at Gaza border villages from Khan Yunis, but the IDF shot it down.
There have been no serious talks about a ceasefire with Gaza since August, though there were brief talks between Israel and some mediating countries in mid-October.
Hannah Sarisohn in New York and Sam Halpern contributed to this report.