Jerusalem, 3 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — One of three bodies returned from Gaza overnight was confirmed to be Capt. Omer Neutra, a US-Israeli national, his family said on Monday morning.
“‘And there is hope for your future, says the Lord, and the children shall return to their border.’ Our Omer is back on the soil of Israel—finally. So much pain, and so much relief,” his father, Ronen, said.
Neutra, just shy of his 22nd birthday, commanded an outpost in the western Negev near the Gaza border, between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim. On the morning of October 7, 2023, despite heavy rocket fire, Neutra and his tank crew rushed to the border to repel the Hamas attack. The tank was hit, and the crew was taken captive into Gaza.
Based on intelligence, the Israel Defense Forces determined in December 2024 that Neutra was mortally wounded on the day of the attack and died in a tunnel that same day.
Neutra is survived by his parents, two brothers, and two sisters.
The National Center for Forensic Medicine has not yet announced the identities of the other two bodies. If confirmed, the total number of bodies held in Gaza would be eight.
Around 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.
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