We join Orna and Ronen Neutra, their family, and the people of Israel in mourning the murder of Omer Neutra, an American-Israeli who has been held hostage by Hamas for 423 days.
Today, the IDF announced that Omer was killed on October 7 before being taken hostage in Gaza, where his body remains.
The finding was based on new intelligence. Until now, it was thought that Omer was still among the living hostages in Gaza.
As a lone soldier, Omer held the rank of captain in the IDF and was a tank platoon commander. On the morning of Hamas’ invasion, 21-year-old Omer and three of his fellow soldiers were stationed near Nahal Oz, where they attempted to protect one of the hardest-hit communities along the Gaza border. All four were abducted to Gaza.
Infamous footage from the attack shows Palestinians in civilian clothing dragging the young soldiers out of their burning tank after they targeted it with explosives.
President Biden released a statement today on the announcement: “Jill and I are devastated and outraged to learn of the death of Omer Neutra, an American citizen… Less than a month ago, Omer’s mother and father joined me at the White House to share the pain they’ve endured as they prayed for the safe return of their son – pain no parent should ever know.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also released statements on Omer’s murder, which you can read here and here. Statements from other members of Congress can be found
here.
President-elect Donald Trump declared today that “if the hostages are not released… there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against humanity.”
Below is a picture of Omer (center left) and his family, as well as one of Omer (center) and his friends at the 2019 AIPAC Policy Conference.
Hezbollah attacks Israel in violation of ceasefire agreement
Today, Hezbollah launched mortars into Israel in direct violation of the week-old ceasefire.
Following the attack, Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "Hezbollah fire at Mt. Dov constitutes a severe violation of the ceasefire, and Israel will respond forcefully. We are determined to continue enforcing the ceasefire and will respond to every Hezbollah violation – minor and major."
This evening, the IDF responded by striking dozens of Hezbollah targets across Lebanon — taking out terrorists and rocket launches, including those used by Hezbollah in today’s attack.
Meanwhile, Israel blocked an Iranian plane suspected of carrying weapons to Hezbollah, which would also have violated the ceasefire agreement. IAF fighter jets intercepted the Iranian plane over Syria and ordered it to return to Iran, which it ultimately did.
Barak Ravid reported this evening that Israel and Lebanon told the White House today that they are committed to the ceasefire deal.
John Spencer, the chair of urban warfare studies at West Point’s Modern War Institute, published a new essay today on Israel’s novel approach to tunnel warfare.
“It is unlikely that any military will face a tunnel system like that in Gaza, where an enemy’s political-military strategy rests on the tunnels and they are deliberately placed under civilian areas. But militaries will continue to encounter subterranean environments in warfare,” Spencer writes.
“The lessons learned by the IDF will save the lives of other soldiers in other battlefields.”
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