Returned Under Ceasefire: Hundreds Mourn Israeli‑American Capt. Omer Neutra at Military Funeral in Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — Hundreds gathered for a military funeral in Jerusalem to mourn Capt. Omer Neutra, an Israeli‑American soldier whose remains were returned to Israel as part of the recent ceasefire with Hamas.

Eulogies and family tributes

Neutra, 21, was killed and his body taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault that triggered the current war. His remains were returned on Sunday night alongside the bodies of two other soldiers who also died in that attack.

“Since that day, the old world stopped, turned upside down. We became broken, clinging to your memory, your smile, your voice,” said his father, Ronen Neutra. “Today we finally have a place to be with you, a place to talk to you, a place to love you, even when you’re no longer here.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, and Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also spoke, honoring Neutra’s service and character. Cooper described him as “the son of two nations,” saying Neutra embodied the best of both the United States and Israel.

“My beloved,” Neutra’s mother, Orna, said as she addressed her son’s coffin, her voice breaking. “We are all left with the vast space between who you were to us and to the world in your life and what you were yet to become. And with the mission to fill that gap with the light and goodness that you are.”

Background and the parents’ campaign

Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Neutra moved to Israel and volunteered for military service. After his abduction, his parents traveled repeatedly to Washington — roughly 40 trips — participated in protests in both the U.S. and Israel, and spoke at the Republican National Convention to press for his return. For more than a year they held out hope he was alive; after 14 months, Israeli military intelligence informed them it believed he had been killed in the Oct. 7 attack.

Exchanges of the dead under the ceasefire

The initial phase of the ceasefire centers on exchanging the remains of those killed. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, militants in Gaza have released 22 bodies since the ceasefire began last month, and six hostage bodies remain in Gaza. Hamas also returned 20 living hostages to Israel on Oct. 13. Israel has transferred 285 Palestinian bodies to Gaza as part of the exchanges the ICRC is managing.

Violence in the West Bank

Separately, violence in the Israeli‑occupied West Bank has surged. Palestinian officials say Israeli forces shot and seized the bodies of three Palestinian teenagers in incidents since Wednesday; the Israeli military said no soldiers were injured. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified two of the youths as Muhammad Atem and Muhammad Qasem, both 16, and said Israel was holding their bodies. The military said the two were throwing explosives toward a major highway. Earlier, forces killed 15‑year‑old Murad Abu Seifen near Jenin; the military said he had thrown an explosive but did not provide evidence.

Defense for Children International‑Palestine said Israeli forces have withheld the bodies of at least 54 Palestinian children since June 2016; six have since been released and 48 remain withheld, the group said.

Wider trends: child casualties and settler attacks

The U.N. humanitarian office reported a rise in child deaths and settler attacks across the West Bank. It said 42 Palestinian children under 18 were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the start of 2025, and that October saw the highest monthly number of documented settler attacks on Palestinians and their property since tracking began in 2006 — more than 260 incidents, an average of about eight per day. Palestinian farmers have reported increased threats from violent settlers, especially during the olive harvest season.

Context: Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war; Palestinians seek those territories as part of a future independent state.