IDF confirms death of New Yorker Omer Maxim Neutra

Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News on Dec 2, 2024

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Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the death of Cap. Omar Maxim Neutra from Long Island Monday. The tank commander was 21.

Neutra was killed during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, according to the IDF. He was posthumously promoted from the rank of lieutenant to captain.

Neutra deferred enrolling at SUNY Binghamton to join the IDF after high school, according to CBS News.

Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed in a statement Monday he was “barbarically murdered” by Hamas.

The Times of Israel reported that it had been believed Neutra was alive and being held hostage in Gaza. It’s now thought he was killed in battle near Nir Oz before his body was taken over the Gaza border from Israel.

“The IDF shares in the family’s grief,” Israeli officials said in a statement.

A Barclays Center crowd hoped for Neutra’s safe return during an event in October 2023, where his image appeared on a Jumbotron. His family came into Brooklyn from Long Island a day after what would’ve been his 22nd birthday. They believed he was being held captive with two other Americans.

“We pray that his body can be returned to his family, who have been speaking out for him & all hostages since that horrific day,” Gov. Hochul’s office said.

Neutra was the captain of his basketball team at Schechter School of Long Island. He was a Knicks fan who wore the number 24 in honor of NBA All-Star Kobe Bryant, according to Pix 11 News.

His mother, Orna Neutra, told that outlet in October of this year that it was “devastating” and “unfathomable” to think her son had spent the past year being held hostage in the Hamas-controlled tunnels under Gaza.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog mourned Neura’s death and called for the return of every victim of the Hamas attack on Israel — living or dead.

“Our hearts are with the Neutra family this morning, who, after more than a year of a determined, traumatic, and worldwide struggle, received the devastating news confirming the death of their beloved son, Captain Omer Maxim Neutra, who fell on October 7th, and his body abducted by terrorists into Gaza,” he wrote in a statement.

More than 250 Israelis were abducted during that incursion, which left 1,200 people dead including 46 Americans. A dozen Americans were taken hostage, according to the U.S. Department of State.

No other details about Neutra’s death were made available. His family couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.