American Listed as Hostage Held by Hamas Is Dead: Israel

An Israeli American soldier thought to have been taken captive by Hamas in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack instead was killed that day, the nation's defense minister said Monday. Omer Neutra, 21, a tank platoon commander in the Israeli military, died in battle in Nir Oz, a kibbutz stormed by militants, Israel Katz said in a post on X. Katz did not say how the military made the determination, NBC News reports. "Omer's life story and dedication represent the best and strongest we have built as a nation," the defense minister wrote. His family had released a statement on Thanksgiving saying: "Our holiday table is empty a second year in a row. Omer is not there."

Hamas has not turned over Neutra's body, Israel said, per the New York Times. He grew up near New York City and emigrated to Israel, becoming a tank platoon commander while doing his military service. His parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra, have campaigned publicly for the release of their son and the 100 or so other hostages Hamas is still holding, though many of them could be dead by now. Hamas' terror attack on southern Israel killed about 1,200 people by the government's count. "We are private and not very political, and yet we find ourselves caught up in the middle of the most controversial geopolitical war in decades," Orna Neutra wrote in an oped for the New York Post this summer. "Our life as we knew it, is gone."