The Israeli military said Monday an Israeli American soldier who was believed to have been taken hostage alive on Oct. 7, 2023, is now presumed to have been killed during Hamas’ attack and his body taken into Gaza.
Neutra, 21, was a New York native who enlisted in the Israeli military and was captured when Hamas attacked southern Israel.
Neutra’s parents, Ronen and Orna, led a public campaign while he was thought to be alive for their son’s freedom. They spoke at protests in the US 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 announcing the death, the military did not say how it came to the conclusion over Neutra’s fate.
He was one of seven American Israelis 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.
In late summer, Hamas killed Hersh Goldberg-Polin, another prominent Israeli American hostage, along with five other captives, whose bodies the Israeli military recovered.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Some 100 captives are still held inside Gaza, around two-thirds believed to be alive.
