UPPER WEST SIDE (WABC) — A vigil was held for Omer Neutra, the New York native who served in the Israeli Army and was killed in the October 7 terror attack.
The vigil was held Monday night on the Upper West Side after the remains of the 21-year-old were returned to Israel by Hamas after 758 days.
Neutra was killed just one week shy of his 22nd birthday.
Hundreds gathered to honor Neutra and the 8 other bodies that have not been returned.
Neutra’s family had mixed emotions and said that while their hearts are shattered, he is finally home.
“After more than 2 years of anguish and uncertainty, our beloved son Captain Omer Neutra has finally been returned to us,” his mother, Orna Neutra, said.
The body of American-Israeli soldier Captain Omer Neutra, who was raised in Plainview, was returned to Israel.
Speaking in Hebrew and English for the first time since their son’s body’s release, Captain Neutra’s parents tried to express their pain.
“For 758 days, we lived between hope and heartbreak,” his mother said.
Neutra was one of three IDF soldiers whose bodies were returned by Hamas on Sunday.
Back in his hometown of Plainview, signs that read ‘bring Omer home now,’ on the front lawns of the Mid Island Jewish Community Center can now come down.
“It’s very hard to be happy for a family that’s getting a body home to be buried instead of having that little inkling of hope that you might come back alive,” CEO, Mid Island Jewish Community Center, Rick Lewis said.
Inside Captain Neutra’s childhood synagogue, his memory remains.
“We put this black ribbon on this chair. I immediately had a mix of emotions. There’s relief and there’s also renewed pain,” Rabbi Joel Levenson of the Midway Jewish Center said.
Rabbi Joel Levenson watched Omer grow up.
“He became a bar mitzvah here at Midway Jewish Center and we watched him grow up, literally,” he said.
Captain Neutra is not the last, as the bodies of 8 other hostages have still not been returned.
Itay Chen from New Jersey is one of the 8 remaining bodies that have not been returned.
A burial will take place in Israel in a military base in Jerusalem.
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