American-Israeli soldier believed to be hostage died during Oct. 7 attack, Israel says

(LONDON) — Omer Maxim Neutra, an American-Israeli soldier, was among those killed on Oct. 7, 2023, as Hamas terrorists poured into southern Israel, officials said on Monday.

Neutra, 21, had been believed to have been taken alive to Gaza as a hostage, but the Israel Defense Forces on Monday said he was instead one of the about 1,200 killed during the surprise attack.

The soldier, who was from New York, had been a tank platoon commander in Israel’s 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion.

“Omer was a man of values, blessed with talents and a Zionist in every aspect of his being,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, which he released with his wife, Sara. “He immigrated to Israel to enlist in the IDF, chose a combat path and was chosen to command and lead.”

Netanyahu said Neutra, who was a captain, had “fought fiercely” as he led Israeli forces “to defend the settlements surrounding Gaza, until he fell.”

In a statement, the Neutra family said it’s “deeply grieving.”

“Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news. The Neutra family is deeply grieving and are requesting the public, who has shown great support throughout this journey, to please respect their privacy until they are formally ready to announce the next steps,” the statement read.

Israel said it had confirmed via intelligence that Neutra had died during the attack and that his body was still being held in Gaza.

Prior to his military service, Neutra had completed a preparatory year with the Tzabar Garin program, where he “loved sports, playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, and served as the captain of his school’s sports teams,” according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

“Family and friends described him as a warm, optimistic, and caring individual who ‘lights up the room the moment he enters,'” the forum said in a statement posted on social media on Monday.

Neutra’s parents, Orna and Ronen, spoke in July at the Republican National Convention. They told the crowd of their grief, not knowing for more than nine months, whether “your son is alive.”

“We need our beautiful son back,” Ronen Neutra said. “And we need your support — your support to end this crisis, and bring all the hostages back home.”

Netanyahu on Monday said he and his wife shared the family’s “heavy” grief.

“We will not rest or be silent until we return him home to the grave of Israel,” he said, “and we will continue to act resolutely and tirelessly until we return all our captives — the living and the dead.”

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who represents the New York Congressional district where Neutra was from, wrote on social media on Monday that he was sending condolences to Neutra’s family.

“I have prayed for Omer and his family, and I ask all of you to join me in holding the Neutra family close as they seek to find peace and meaning in this tragedy,” Suozzi wrote.

Three Americans are still presumed to be alive among the dozens of hostages Hamas is still holding.

“We must fulfill the ultimate imperative: to return Omer, and all our abducted men and women — the living to their families, and the fallen and murdered to be laid to rest,” President Isaac Herzog of Israel said in a statement announcing Neutra’s death.

ABC News’ Dave Brennan, Joe Simonetti, Jordana Miller and Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.