Cpt. Omer Neutra, 21: Tank commander sought to ‘make an impact’

Cpt. Omer Maxim Neutra, 21, a tank platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from New York, was killed on October 7 while battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, and his body taken captive.

With the start of the attack, Omer set out from the so-called “White House” IDF post between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim toward the border, with his comrades Sgt. Nimrod Cohen, Sgt. Oz Daniel and Sgt. Shaked Dahan.

Their tank was attacked by Hamas terrorists with RPG fire and explosive devices. Omer, Oz and Shaked were all killed in the attack, and their bodies taken to Gaza, while Nimrod was abducted alive to the Strip.

Footage of Gazans standing around the burning tank and celebrating, and dragging Nimrod out from inside, became some of the most haunting footage for Israelis in the wake of October 7.

Omer’s family did not know of his fate for more than a year, until in December 2024, Israeli authorities confirmed that he had been killed on October 7 and his body taken hostage. His family sat shiva, the seven-day mourning period, but did not hold a funeral.

Shaked’s remains were recovered from Gaza in August 2024. On October 13, 2025, Nimrod was freed from Hamas captivity after two years.

On November 2, 2025, Omer’s remains were returned to Israel from Gaza by Hamas along with those of Oz and Col. Asaf Hamami. He was buried in Tel Aviv on November 7.

He is survived by his parents, Orna and Ronen, and his younger siblings Daniel, Keren, Or and Leah.

Born in New York City and raised in Plainview, Long Island, Omer was the oldest in his family and the son of Israeli parents who had moved to New York in 1999.

The grandson of Holocaust survivors, he attended the Jewish Schechter School on Long Island, where he was captain of the basketball, soccer and volleyball teams, his family said, and was a big fan of the New York Knicks.

Omer was an active participant in the United Synagogue Youth and Tzofim Jewish youth groups, and a member of the Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York.

He was offered admission to the State University of New York at Binghamton, but instead deferred, took a gap year and then moved to Israel to enlist in the army, where he served as a lone soldier.

Omer arrived in Israel in the fall of 2019 and spent a year at a pre-military academy in the Upper Galilee, according to an IDF obituary. In November 2020, he enlisted in the IDF as part of the Garin Tzabar affiliated with the scouts movement.

He joined the Armored Corps, and later completed a tank commander’s course and then an officer’s course, appointed as a tank platoon commander.

Josh Juryta, the head of athletics at Schechter, told JTA that “I coached him for three years, and he was an incredible leader both on and off the court… he inspired everyone who knew him.”

Speaking to The Times of Israel in July 2024, his mother, Orna, said, “So many kids crossed paths with Omer. He made connections with people really easily. Even if someone just met him for a brief moment, they felt like they knew him. He’d leave some part of him with you. He was always inclusive and funny. He drew a lot of people to him.”

“He’s a goofball and disarming on the one hand. On the other hand, he could also be a serious guy. He loves people and his passion is to make an impact,” Orna added.

At a memorial service held in New York – at the same synagogue where Omer had his bar mitzvah a decade earlier – his father, Ronen, said: “We were told Omer gave courageous commands to other soldiers and saved their lives.”

He said his son had decided to uproot his life to serve the State of Israel: “‘It’s my turn to show my love to Israel in action and not just in words,’ Omer said. His memory must be a blessing. Rest in peace, my boy, my beautiful son. We will never forget you, hero of Israel.”

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