Families of hostages unite through shared grief
The families of hostages, enduring seven months of heartache, unite in a shared mission to reunite and protect their missing loved ones. Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer held by Hamas since October 7, 2023, reveal their anguish to The Washington Examiner. Omer, a Long Island native turned IDF soldier, was seized near the Nahal Oz border. The families of hostages, enduring seven months of heartache, come together to support each other in the quest to reunite with their missing loved ones. Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer held captive by Hamas since October 7, 2023, bravely share their heartbreaking story with The Washington Examiner. Omer, originally from Long Island and serving in the IDF, was taken near the Nahal Oz border.
Pain has struck the families of the hostages who have been longing for their loved ones for seven straight months. They’ve now come together as a group, doing everything they can to bring the missing pieces of their families back together and safe.
The Washington Examiner spoke directly with Ronen and Orna Neutra, parents of Omer, 22, who has been held hostage by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023.
“We have definitely been terrorized, our son abducted on Oct. 7,” Ronen lamented. “We have no sign of life.”
Omer was born and raised in Long Island, New York. After graduating high school, he moved to Israel for what was intended to only be a temporary “gap year.” However, Orna said he soon realized he “couldn’t just go back to his kind of cushy life in New York” and joined the Israel Defense Forces.
On the morning of Oct. 7, Omer was serving as a tank commander near Nahal Oz, close to the border.
“He was one of the first tanks,” Ronen explained. “If not the first one that rushed to the border. They were ambushed there.”
Ronen recalls a video of seeing Omer being dragged out, and that’s the last they’ve seen or heard from him.
Families of the hostages began grieving together. Among one another, they found support. They helped each other strategize and thought collectively. In the process, they’ve all gained new relatives.
The families visited the United Nations together, calling on the global organization to do more for the hostages. A group also traveled near the border with 16 House Republicans to witness the horrific aftermath.
The Neutras even spoke with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), working every angle to bring their son home.
At the White House Correspondents dinner, Fetterman questioned the ongoing campus protests.
“Why aren’t we talking more about the hostages?” Fetterman said. “All of this could end if Hamas surrenders and releases all of the hostages.”
Omer’s grandparents fled the Holocaust when his father, Ronen, was only 4 years old. His parent’s hope and the will to survive lies deep in his genes.
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“He knows that many people are praying for him right now,” Orna said. “He just knows that.”
“Stay strong,” Ronen said, in case his son could hear this message. “We’re coming to get you.”
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