Hamas hostages' families urge U.S. pressure to seek release of loved ones
Orna and Ronan Neutra of Plainview on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol address a news conference held by families of Hamas hostages. Credit: Sipa USA via AP/Michael Brochstein
The mother of a Long Islander abducted in Israel and held hostage in Gaza for the past 103 days said a deal must be reached with Hamas to release her son and the other 129 captives — before it's too late.
Orna Neutra, the mother of Plainview native Omer Neutra, joined the families of a half-dozen other Oct. 7 hostages, along with a bipartisan contingent of U.S. senators on Wednesday, in urging for continued U.S. and international support to bring home their loved ones.
“We must do everything possible to bring them back,” Orna Neutra said at a Washington, D.C., news conference. “Any deal put forward must include them all. These boys could be your boys. They must be brought home. They cannot be treated as the last priority. They cannot be overlooked.”
Omer Neutra, 22, joined the Israeli army after graduating from The Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park. He was serving near the Gaza border, where he was in charge of a small base, on Oct. 7 when he was taken hostage during the surprise Hamas attack on the military and civilians.
Born in Manhattan to Israeli-born parents, Neutra is a 2019 graduate of Schechter, where he was an honors student, the captain of his basketball, soccer and volleyball teams and highly active in several Jewish community organizations. He was accepted to Binghamton University but instead took a gap year to join the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Everyone is better in his presence,” Orna Neutra said of her son. “To me, he's my boy. And my heart is broken as I think about what he's been going through. There's a huge hole in our family and within all the communities he's formed around him in his young life.”
About 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel while around 240 were taken hostage. Some 110 hostages have been released, many during a weeklong November cease-fire, while others have died in captivity. Meanwhile, more than 100 days into Israel's war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in Gaza had passed 24,000 and Hamas has said it will not release more hostages until there is a permanent cease-fire.
Without access to medical care, and dealing with unknown injuries and ailments, lawmakers said the clock was ticking on bringing the hostages home.
“There are always new initiatives, as there are right now,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) of ongoing efforts to negotiate a release of the 130 remaining hostages. “They are making slow, slow, slow but important progress.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) urged the desperate family members not to give up hope.
“I can't fathom their courage, their strength to keep fighting for their children knowing there's nothing that they can do to ease their pain,” Gillibrand said. “They cannot comfort them. They cannot protect them. They could do nothing but keep using their voices to stand up and demand action.”
Last week, Orna Neutra stood at the Gaza border, shouting words of support into a microphone, in hopes that her son could hear her.
“We asked him to stay strong,” she said Wednesday. “We shouted that we're coming for him. We told him that we loved him and we urged him not to lose hope. But so far, we have failed our son. We, and the whole civilized world, have failed.”
The mother of a Long Islander abducted in Israel and held hostage in Gaza for the past 103 days said a deal must be reached with Hamas to release her son and the other 129 captives — before it's too late.
Orna Neutra, the mother of Plainview native Omer Neutra, joined the families of a half-dozen other Oct. 7 hostages, along with a bipartisan contingent of U.S. senators on Wednesday, in urging for continued U.S. and international support to bring home their loved ones.
“We must do everything possible to bring them back,” Orna Neutra said at a Washington, D.C., news conference. “Any deal put forward must include them all. These boys could be your boys. They must be brought home. They cannot be treated as the last priority. They cannot be overlooked.”
Omer Neutra, 22, joined the Israeli army after graduating from The Schechter School of Long Island in Williston Park. He was serving near the Gaza border, where he was in charge of a small base, on Oct. 7 when he was taken hostage during the surprise Hamas attack on the military and civilians.
Born in Manhattan to Israeli-born parents, Neutra is a 2019 graduate of Schechter, where he was an honors student, the captain of his basketball, soccer and volleyball teams and highly active in several Jewish community organizations. He was accepted to Binghamton University but instead took a gap year to join the Israeli Defense Forces.
“Everyone is better in his presence,” Orna Neutra said of her son. “To me, he's my boy. And my heart is broken as I think about what he's been going through. There's a huge hole in our family and within all the communities he's formed around him in his young life.”
About 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel while around 240 were taken hostage. Some 110 hostages have been released, many during a weeklong November cease-fire, while others have died in captivity. Meanwhile, more than 100 days into Israel's war against Hamas, Palestinian authorities said the death toll in Gaza had passed 24,000 and Hamas has said it will not release more hostages until there is a permanent cease-fire.
Without access to medical care, and dealing with unknown injuries and ailments, lawmakers said the clock was ticking on bringing the hostages home.
“There are always new initiatives, as there are right now,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) of ongoing efforts to negotiate a release of the 130 remaining hostages. “They are making slow, slow, slow but important progress.”
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) urged the desperate family members not to give up hope.
“I can't fathom their courage, their strength to keep fighting for their children knowing there's nothing that they can do to ease their pain,” Gillibrand said. “They cannot comfort them. They cannot protect them. They could do nothing but keep using their voices to stand up and demand action.”
Last week, Orna Neutra stood at the Gaza border, shouting words of support into a microphone, in hopes that her son could hear her.
“We asked him to stay strong,” she said Wednesday. “We shouted that we're coming for him. We told him that we loved him and we urged him not to lose hope. But so far, we have failed our son. We, and the whole civilized world, have failed.”
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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