Omer Neutra’s parents have endured 275 days of silence from their son.
Orna and Ronen Neutra, of Plainview, New York, have not heard a word from the 22-year-old man since he was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on October 7.
“It was nine months of waking up every morning hoping that Omer would wake up too,” said his mother, Orna.
As Israel and the terrorist group Hamas move closer to a ceasefire agreement, hundreds of people gathered in Central Park on Sunday to call on Hamas to release Omer, from New York, and all hostages remaining in Gaza.
He is one of eight American hostages being held by Hamas and his mother is praying for his safe return.
“It’s been nine months since Omer’s last phone call in his position,” Orna added. “I can still hear his voice.”
“I can’t imagine what he’s going through with no signs of life.”
Omer turned down an offer to attend Binghamton University to join the Israeli army, a decision he said he made to protect friends he had met in a military preparation program, his parents previously told The Washington Post.
The IDF tank commander was stationed near the Nir Oz kibbutz in southern Israel when the base was attacked by Hamas on October 7. Footage shows terrorists setting fire to Omer’s armored vehicle and kidnapping a young soldier.
Responding to reports that Israeli and Hamas negotiators were considering a new U.S.-backed hostage deal, Omer’s father, Ronen, said Israel had a responsibility to free his son and about 119 others, even if the war ended before Israel had destroyed the terror group.
“The war needs to end and the hostages need to come home,” Ronen said. “Removing Hamas is important, but it will take time and patience.”
“No one should be left behind,” he added. “The time is now. Bring them home now.”
The frustrated father said the war had “destroyed” the trust many Israelis had in their government and army, and called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to “set aside political agendas and put the lives of the hostages first.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly said military force is the best way to free the hostages and has insisted he will not accept any deal that would end the war quickly and allow Hamas to remain in Gaza.
Omer’s brother-in-law, Omri Milan, echoed the importance of putting hostages first in any ceasefire agreement.
Milan said that if Omer and the remaining hostages are released, Israel can focus on fighting its enemies.
“We know we are fighting an evil terrorist organization,” he said. “We know we will continue to fight them and the Iranian-backed axis of evil.”
Sunday’s event was also attended by friends of the other American hostages, including an Israeli army reservist who gave his name as Afek.
Afek said he was at the rally for his friend, Itai Chen, a 19-year-old American who had enlisted in the Israel Defense Forces and was later found killed on October 7.
Like Omers, Afek said the Israeli government needed to prioritize releasing the hostages, but the reservist also sympathized with the Israeli government’s struggle to reach a ceasefire agreement.
“I think this is really a very complicated situation because Hamas is a terrorist organization and they lie about everything,” he said. “It’s difficult to do business with them.”
He added: “I don’t know what the solution is, but I hope the government or somebody will do something.”
The rally came a day after Hamas accepted a US-backed ceasefire deal, with the terror group finally dropping its hardline demands for Israel to end the war.
However, the Iran-backed terror group is now demanding “written guarantees” that the first phase of a ceasefire will see mediators continue to negotiate a permanent ceasefire.
