Plainview native Omer Neutra, who was previously believed to be alive and held hostage by Hamas, was announced dead this morning by the IDF.
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The family of Omer Nuetra, the Plainview resident and Israeli Defense Force soldier killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attack, finally received his body, officials announced on Nov. 2.
The 21-year-old dual citizen’s body was one of three that the terrorist organization Hamas returned on the same day — 759 days after the attacks — to Israel, where the soldier’s family is planning final arrangements.
“Our Omer is on Israeli soil,” his father, Ronen Neilutra, told The Times of Israel in a statement. “Finally — so much pain and so much relief!
Nuetra’s return comes after Hama returned 17 bodies to Israel since an Oct. 10 ceasefire was reached on Oct. 10, but 11 more remain in Gaza. The last 20 surviving hostages were returned upon the agreement.
The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when terrorists stormed Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, making it the deadliest days for Jews since the Holocaust during World War II.
Tens of thousands of civilians were killed, most of them Palestinians, during the war as the hostages’ prolonged captivity continued to bring daily anguish to their families, friends and supporters across the world.
President Donald Trump told reporters that he spoke with Neutra’s family.
