Parents of American Hostage Share Their Ordeal
The parents of a U.S. hostage, whose body remains in Gaza, have spoken about the intense emotional turmoil they’ve endured while waiting for updates from Hamas.
“We arrived on Sunday, hoping for his return on Monday, but as days passed, only four hostages were released, and my son wasn’t one of them. It was shocking,” Orna Neutra, the mother of Captain Omer Neutra, shared during a segment on “Fox & Friends” Thursday.
Captain Neutra, a deceased IDF Platoon Leader, is one of two American casualties whose bodies have not yet been returned following a peace deal initiated by President Trump.
Orna, alongside her husband Ronen Neutra, expressed their frustration, noting that Hamas has kept them in suspense by not confirming any further releases.
“They typically bring hostages back to Israel after midnight, and we stay up waiting, often until 3 or 4 a.m.,” she explained. “So, we held our breath, realizing he wasn’t back yet, while Hamas claimed they couldn’t release anyone else.”
Hamas has failed to comply with the stipulations of Trump’s peace agreement, which included returning all deceased hostages to Israel.
All remaining live hostages were finally returned to Israel last weekend.
Ronen urged the U.S. government to exert its maximum pressure on Middle Eastern negotiators to secure the return of the deceased hostages, expressing concerns that a renewed conflict could result in his son’s body being lost “forever.”
“We need to unite Israel and Hamas and convey, ‘There are still 19 hostages. This is part of the first phase of the deal, and they must come home,'” he stated.
He expressed a deep concern: “If they don’t come back, this truce could fall apart, which would be disastrous. We might lose our son for good. In our culture, we seek a burial site to begin the mourning process, but we haven’t been able to do that for over two years.”
The family of Itai Chen, another former U.S. and Israeli hostage, is similarly waiting for the return of his body from Hamas.
