Heartbreak: Two American Lone Soldiers
- On Monday, the IDF announced that Captain Omer Neutra, aged 22, was killed on October 7, 2023. Neutra, an Israeli-American lone soldier from Syosset, Long Island, was believed to be on the live hostages held by Hamas. Although the terror group still holds Neutra’s body, meaning that no funeral service can take place, a memorial service was held yesterday with over 1000 people in attendance. Watch the CBS News coverage here.
- On Sunday, Hamas released a video of American-Israeli hostage Idan Alexander. Alexander also enlisted in the IDF as a lone soldier, and was captured on October 7. In the video, which Israeli authorities called “Hamas psychological warfare,” Alexander appeals to Prime Minister Netanyahu to do everything he can to reach a deal. He then appeals to US President-elect Trump in English to ask him to help reach a deal for the release of the hostages.
Gaza and the Hostages
- Last night, the IDF announced that the body of Itai Svirsky, who was taken hostage on October 7 from Kibbutz Be'eri, had been recovered, and returned to Israel for burial. Noa Argamani, a hostage rescued in June, had been held together with Svirsky when he was alive, but it is believed that he was killed last January. His parents were both murdered by Hamas on October 7, as were his three Golden Retrievers.
- There are now exactly 100 hostages who remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip, 14 months after they were kidnapped. Many are no longer alive.
- There is renewed hope that a ceasefire and hostage-release deal may be reached with Hamas in Gaza. Hamas is thought to be more inclined to reach an agreement at this, because:
- Hamas has been significantly weakened, with much of its senior leadership and fighters either killed or captured.
- US President-elect Donald Trump has publicly threatened severe action (he wrote that there will be “hell to pay,”) against Hamas should the hostages not be released by the time of his inauguration.
- Hamas’s ally Hezbollah has cut a separate deal with Israel, and Hamas’s main backer, Iran, seems to be backing away from further confrontation with Israel, following several humiliating defeats.
- According to Israeli officials, an updated ceasefire proposal, agreed to by Israel, has been given to Egypt, who are now serving as the main negotiators for a deal.
- The proposal offers a ceasefire with Hamas lasting 42 to 60 days. During this period, the terror group would release female hostages, male hostages over 50, and hostages in critical medical condition. Israel initially demanded the release of 33 individuals in these groups, but now understands that numerous hostages may be dead so the number may be smaller. According to some reports, the strategic Philadelphi Corridor along the border between Egypt and Gaza would be controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
- Earlier this week, the IDF today presented the families of six hostages killed on February 14 with the results of an investigation into the circumstances of their deaths. The inquiry determined that Alex Danzig, Yoram Mezger, Haim Perry, Avraham Mondar, Yagev Buchshtab, and Nadav Popplewell were killed by their Hamas captors when IDF forces approached the Gaza tunnel where they were being held. According to the findings, the IDF attacked the terror tunnel without knowing that the hostages were inside. The Israelis were found shot to death inside the tunnel, 500 feet from where the IDF had fought the Hamas terrorists.
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