‘Fell In A Heroic Battle’: IDF Announces American Hostage Died on October 7

Latest Developments

• The IDF confirmed that one of seven Americans who was previously thought to be alive as a Hamas hostage in Gaza was killed during the terrorist group’s October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, a lone soldier from Long Island, New York, had served as a tank platoon commander, the IDF said on December 2. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on X that Neutra “fell in a heroic battle near [Kibbutz] Nir Oz … and was kidnapped to the Gaza Strip by the Hamas murderers.”

• The Iran-backed terrorist organization kidnapped 251 Israelis on October 7 and still holds 101 Israelis hostage, including four seized prior to last year’s attacks. Hamas still holds the bodies of four hostages with American citizenship who had been confirmed killed, including Neutra, Itay Chen, 19, Judy Weinstein,70, and Gad Haddai, 73. The IDF recovered the body of 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin — who was killed along with five other hostages in a tunnel in Rafah — on September 1. Four additional American hostages were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.

• Israel believes that three American hostages abducted by Hamas are still alive 423 days later, including Keith Siegel, 64, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, and Edan Alexander, 20. Hamas released a propaganda video of Alexander on November 30, in which the visibly distressed New Jersey native said he had been in captivity for 420 days and pleaded with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate the hostages’ freedom. In the video, Hamas threatened “Time is running out.”

FDD Expert Response

“Hamas murdered American citizens on October 7, and that American death toll has now increased. Compounding sadness with anger and frustration, the Neutra family went more than one year without knowing Omer’s fate, a failure of American policy to hold Hamas and its state sponsors accountable — not to mention an unforgivable failure by the International Committee of the Red Cross to perform one of its primary functions. Noting that Hamas already executed an American in captivity and has now put another American in a psychological warfare video, maximum pressure on every Hamas sponsor is long overdue.” — Richard Goldberg, Senior Advisor

“The United States needs to rethink what it means to protect American citizens in the hands of genocidal Hamas. We can’t wait for a politically convenient time to act decisively against those who hold our citizens and their enablers. Impunity begets more malign activity.” — Toby Dershowitz, Managing Director of FDD Action

“One of Israel’s primary objectives in the Gaza conflict is the return of all hostages held by Hamas and other terrorist groups. The tragic death of American Israeli tank commander Omer Neutra has only intensified Israel’s determination to realize this goal. As the fighting rages on, it is increasingly evident that a ceasefire may represent the most viable pathway to securing the hostages’ release. To achieve this, Israel must leverage its military successes in Gaza and the backing of its ally in Washington. However, it is essential to recognize that Israel will likely need to make significant sacrifices to reach this objective.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst and Editor at FDD’s Long War Journal

“Though Hamas is nearly eliminated, the terrorist group can still destroy the lives of Gazans and terrorize Israeli hostages and their families. Hamas continues to wage psychological warfare against Israelis by holding their loved ones and not providing any information about them. For Israel, the hostage issue is front and center, with signs supporting the abducted Israelis at every street corner, bus stop, and public square. The families of the hostages would give anything to have their loved ones back; their lives are priceless. Though Israel is a small country with a deep sense of interconnectedness, on a national level, the country must make difficult choices: It must return the citizens it is sworn to defend while protecting its 10 million citizens and not incentivizing terrorist groups to take hostages in the future.” — David May, FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst