Hamas Returns Bodies of Three More Hostages to Israel

The terrorists of Hamas returned the remains of three more slain hostages to Israel on Sunday. All three were Israeli soldiers who were killed attempting to repel the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The terrorists dragged their bodies back to Gaza to use as bargaining chips.

Israeli officials confirmed the remains belonged to Col. Asaf Hamami, Cpt. Omer Neutra, and Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel. Cpt. Neutra hailed from New York and held both American and Israeli citizenship, a fact confirmed by President Donald Trump on Sunday night.

“We got Neutra, from New York, from the United States and I spoke to his parents,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night.

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“They’re thrilled in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, not too great. We’re very happy to have done it. We have three. We got three bodies back today that they found, and we’re looking for the remainder,” the president said.

“They will now be able to bury Omer with the dignity he deserves. Omer has returned to the land he loved and served. His parents’ and brother’s courage and resolve have touched the hearts of countless people around the world,” the Neutra family said in a statement.

Omer Neutra, 21 at the time of his death, grew up in the town of Plainview on Long Island as the grandson of Holocaust survivors. He decided to take a year after graduating high school to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He was serving as a tank commander when Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023.

Sgt. Oz Daniel, 19, whose remains were also returned on Sunday, was a member of Neutra’s four-man tank crew. A third member, 19-year-old Sgt. Shaked Dahan, was also killed during the October 7 attacks, and his body was recovered in August 2024. The fourth member, 21-year-old Pvt. Nimrod Cohen, was captured alive by Hamas and released last month during the final hostage exchange between Hamas and Israel.

The tank commanded by Cpt. Neutra was struck by rocket-propelled grenades and explosive devices during the Hamas attack. Social media video showed Gazans surrounding the burning tank and celebrating as Pvt. Cohen was pulled alive from the wreckage.

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It took over a year for Neutra’s family to learn he had died on October 7, as Hamas preferred not to release information on its hostages, in defiance of international humanitarian law. His parents became tireless advocates for Hamas’ hostages, speaking at the Republican National Convention in 2024. Neutra’s hometown of Plainview has named both a street and a park in his honor.

According to the U.S. State Department, 46 American citizens were murdered by Hamas during the October 7 attack, and 12 more Americans were among the 256 hostages kidnapped by the terrorists.

Hamami, 40, was commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade when Hamas attacked on October 7. He was at the Gaza Division base, spending time during Shabbat (the Jewish weekend time of rest) with his five-year-old son when the attack began. He left his son in the care of other soldiers while he raced to join a battle from which he would not return. It took about eight weeks for the IDF to confirm his death.

Col. Hamami left behind a wife and a total of three children. A funeral service was held, without his remains, in December 2023.

“The way you fought and fell defined who you were. Family was so important to you, every time you talked about them it was hard to miss the smile and the sparkle in your eyes,” Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld said at the funeral.

Hamami’s wife Saphir said at the funeral that her heart was “broken and crushed” by his loss, but she was also at peace with his decision to join the military, “because what hurts me so much today is also what made me fall in love with you.”

According to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the remains of the three hostages returned by Hamas on Sunday were transferred to Israel, honored in a military ceremony, and then taken to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for positive identification before the families were notified.

Netanyahu met with the family of Col. Asaf Hamami on Monday, and was scheduled to meet with the Daniel and Neutra families later in the day:

“The Government of Israel shares in the profound grief of the Hamami, Neutra, and Daniel families, and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” the prime minister’s office said.