GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) The Israeli military announced on Monday that an Israeli American soldier who was believed to have been captured alive on October 7, 2023, is now presumed to have been killed during the Palestinian resistance’s cross-border operation and his body taken into Gaza.
According to the Hebrew media, Omer Neutra, a “lone soldier” from New York — called as such because his parents were not in Israel — served as a tank platoon commander in the 7th armored brigade’s 77th battalion.
On the morning of October 7, 2023, he was inside a tank on the Gaza border near the southern community of Nahal Oz along with three other officers. Neutra was the tank commander, Shaked Dahan was the driver, Nimrod Cohen was the gunner, and Oz Daniel was the loader.
During the first moments of the Palestinian attack on southern Israel, their tank was targeted by resistance fighters with an RPG projectile and explosive devices. All the tank soldiers were then rounded up and taken into Gaza.
The Hebrew media cited Israeli military sources as saying that Dahan’s death was confirmed in November 2023 and Daniel’s death was announced in February. Now, after 14 months, Neutra’s death was also confirmed. All three are believed to have been killed on October 7, 2023, according to the Israeli army.
Ynet news said that Cohen’s fate remains unknown, though his father, Yehuda, told the website that he received indications that his son is alive.
Neutra’s parents, Ronen and Orna, led a public campaign for their son’s freedom while he was thought to be alive.
In a statement announcing his death, the Israeli army did not explain how it came to the conclusion over Neutra’s fate. He was one of seven American Israelis still held in Gaza; four of them are now said to be dead. Al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas recently released a video of one, Edan Alexander, indicating he was still alive.
A few months ago, Hamas accused the Israeli army of killing Hersh Goldberg-Polin, another Israeli American prisoner, along with five other captives, whose bodies Israeli forces recovered following their attack on a tunnel.
