Israeli soldier Omer Neutra, from Plainview, was killed in Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Israeli military confirms  

The Israeli military said Plainview native Omer Neutra, a soldier who was believed to have been captured alive by Hamas in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, was killed that day, with his body taken into the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on X, the Israel Defense Forces said it confirmed his death "based on intelligence." The 21-year-old Israeli-American was a platoon commander in the IDF, according to the statement, which included an undated photograph and the traditional Jewish phrase used to express condolences after a death: "May his memory be a blessing."

The IDF press office did not respond to emailed questions about the nature of the intelligence or the location of Neutra's remains, but Sen. Chuck Schumer's office said that Hamas had Neutra's body.  

Neutra was one of seven American Israelis believed to have been still held in Gaza, four of whom are now said to be dead. Hamas released a video of one, Edan Alexander, over the weekend, indicating he was still alive.

Neutra, a 2019 graduate of the Schechter School of Long Island and the grandson of Holocaust survivors, had deferred college to enlist in the IDF, his family has said. He was serving near the Gaza border, where he was in charge of a small base, when Hamas attacked Israel.

For more than a year since then, his parents, Ronen and Orna, led a public campaign for their son’s freedom. They spoke at protests in the U.S. and Israel, addressed the Republican National Convention this year and kept up ties with the Biden administration in their crusade to secure their son’s release.

In a statement Monday, President Joe Biden said he and First Lady Jill Biden were "devastated and outraged" to learn of Neutra's death.

"A Long Island native, Omer planned to return to the United States for college. He dreamed of dedicating himself to building peace," the statement said. "To all the families of those still held hostage: We see you. We are with you. And I will not stop working to bring your loved ones back home where they belong."

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had issued a statement on Thanksgiving calling for the safe return of Neutra and others taken by Hamas, followed it up with a post on X: "We just learned that this prayer couldn't be answered for the family of Omer Neutra. Omer was barbarically murdered by Hamas in the October 7 attacks. We pray that his body can be returned to his family, who have been speaking out for him & all hostages since that horrific day." 

State facilities will lower flags to half-staff on the day of Neutra’s funeral, according to Hochul's office. That date will be selected by the Neutra family and publicly announced in coming days.

Schumer, in a statement, said he was "devastated and heartbroken" and that he was "fighting to bring Omer's remains" and the 100 remaining Hamas hostages home. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, in a statement, said Neutra's "heroism and sacrifice will never be forgotten."

Reaction was swift on Long Island to Neutra's death.

"The news brought me to tears," said Rick Lewis, chief executive of the Mid-Island Y JCC, who knows the Neutra family and met Monday with Jewish leaders from the region. "We're all dumbfounded."

For many locals, Lewis said, the Neutra family "has become the Long Island representation of everything that's going on in Israel. We want to avoid any more families ever going through the pain and suffering that they're going through."

Lewis and others had pushed for months for the safe return of the hostages. "We can't lose hope, as Omar's parents didn't lose hope until today," he said.  

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said Neutra's family had lived with "alternating deep sorrow and hopefulness, crushing anxiety and steely determination... now they must face the deep grief of the loss of their son and brother." 

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, in an email from a representative, hailed Neutra as a "cherished Nassau County resident, a fellow American, and a dedicated IDF soldier, whose life was tragically cut short by acts of unimaginable terror."

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino ordered flags on town property to be flown at half-staff in honor of the Plainview resident.

Weeks before the announcement of Neutra's death, his father, Ronen Neutra, said the last year of uncertainty about his safety and whereabouts had been "filled with agony — an agony no parent should have to go through."

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Some 100 are still held inside Gaza, around two-thirds believed to be alive. 

Israel’s ongoing retaliatory offensive has killed at least 44,429 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The war has destroyed vast areas of the coastal enclave and displaced 90% of the population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Neutra joined the IDF after graduating from the Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park in 2019, his family told Newsday after the Oct. 7 attack. "He's an American; a good Jewish boy who loves both the American country and the Israeli country," Ronen Neutra told Newsday at the time. "Everybody loves him, a smart, cool kid that was taken by Hamas. And, we need to bring him home."

Omer was raised on Long Island, the oldest of two sons. His parents have dual American-Israeli citizenship.

Neutra was an honors student, the captain of his basketball, soccer and volleyball teams and highly active in several Jewish community organizations, according to his parents. He served as regional president of the Metropolitan New York Region of United Synagogue Youth.

Late last summer, Hamas killed another Israeli-American hostage, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, along with five other captives, whose bodies the Israeli military said it recovered.

The Biden administration said it is making another push for a ceasefire and the release of the remaining hostages, after nearly a year of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas repeatedly stalled.

With AP