President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that the body of U.S. citizen Omer Neutra has been returned by Hamas, along with two other deceased hostages.
While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, en route back to Washington from Florida, he also mentioned having communicated with Neutra’s parents.
The president stated, “We received Neutra, from , from the United States, and I spoke with his parents.”
Trump further added, “They are relieved in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, not doing too well. We are very pleased to have accomplished this. We have three. We received three bodies today that were located, and we are searching for the rest.”
Neutra had enrolled in the Israeli army in 2020 following a gap year spent in Israel, having previously attended Binghamton University.
Earlier on Sunday, the Prime Minister ’s office announced that Israel has received the remains of three Israeli hostages through the Red Cross; a statement indicated that IDF and Shin Bet forces recovered the remains inside the Gaza Strip.
The announcement stated that the bodies would be , where they will be honored during a military ceremony led by the Chief Military Rabbi.
Subsequently, they will be transported to the of the Ministry of Health for identification. Official notifications will be delivered to the families once this process is finalized.
All families of the deceased hostages have been notified, and the government conveyed profound condolences through the statement, saying its “hearts are with them at this difficult time.”
The official statement also reiterated Israel’s continuous commitment to and affirmed that efforts will persist “relentlessly and will not cease until the last hostage is brought home.”
The Israeli public was also encouraged to respect the and refrain from disseminating unverified information, with updates to be sought solely from official sources.
Although the identities of the bodies have not yet been verified, Hamas claimed they were three Israeli soldiers.
To date, Hamas has returned 17 deceased hostages since the . However, 11 other hostage bodies are still believed to be in Gaza.
Per Israel alleged that Hamas has been slow in delivering the deceased bodies, whereas Hamas stated it is working as quickly as possible but under difficult conditions.
Otherwise, prior to Sunday’s hostage release, an incident occurred, killing one, according to reports.
The Israeli army asserted its aircraft hit a militant who posed a threat to its forces, while Al-Ahli Hospital reported that one man had been killed in the Gaza City airstrike, according to various reports.
During an Israeli broadcast, Netanyahu stated, “Hamas pockets still exist in the areas under our control in Gaza, and we are systematically eliminating them.”
To transfer the remains of 28 deceased hostages in exchange for the bodies of 360 Palestinian militants who were killed in the Gaza war.