MILWAUKEE—Ronen Neutra sat next to his wife Orna, a piece of tape on his dark blazer with the number 285 written in black marker—the number of days his son has been a Hamas hostage in the Gaza Strip.
For nearly 300 days, Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American citizen, has likely not received the “basic humanitarian needs that any human being deserves,” the hostage’s father said during a press conference Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“We’re not sure if our son even got medical attention or anything,” Neutra said, adding, “In fact, we’re not even sure our son is alive.”
The Neutras are attending the GOP convention to share their son’s story and advocate his release as well as the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, the terrorist organization that killed about 1,200 people inside Israel on Oct. 7, taking another 250 hostages.
Omer Neutra was 22 on Oct. 7 and is believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas during the attacks. He now is one of about 120 hostages still believed to be held hostage in Gaza.
Although negotiation efforts continue for the release of the hostages, the senior Neutra warns, “time is running out.”
“Everybody must come back,” Neutra said. “And by bringing them back, it’s going to bring a cease-fire to the area. [The terror group] Hezbollah is going to stop shooting to the north of Israel. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis can come back to their homes. This is the solution. But it starts by bringing back the 120 hostages, among them eight Americans.”
Concerned Women for America, a Christian and conservative policy organization led by Penny Nance, hosted the press conference as part of the group’s “She Prays, She Votes” bus tour ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
In addition to Omer Neutra, American citizens Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and Keith Siegel are believed to be alive in Gaza. The bodies of three other Americans—Itay Chen, Judy Weinstein, and Gad Haggai—also are believed to be in Gaza.
Omer Neutra was born in New York City in 2001.
On Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists struck America, “I was eight months pregnant,” his mother, Orna Neutra, said.
“Crossing over the Queensboro Bridge [in New York], trying to get home from the city with Omer in my belly, just trying to get him out of harm’s way. And it’s just insane that 23 years later, he’s [a victim] in this vile terrorist attack.”
Following high school, Omer took a gap year and participated in a leadership program in Israel. After spending a year there, Omer’s mother said, her son felt, as an Israeli citizen, that he needed to “do his share in protecting the homeland.”
He became a tank commander in the Israel Defense Forces and was serving close to Israel’s border with Gaza on Oct. 7. His tank was found empty shortly after the attack and he was presumed to be taken hostage.
Ronen and Orna Neutra spoke alongside Liz Naphtali, the great-aunt of U.S. citizen Abigail Edan, who celebrated her fourth birthday as a hostage in Gaza before being released in a hostage deal in November. Hamas terrorists murdered both of Abigail’s parents Oct. 7.
The tragic events that both families and so many in Israel experienced that day have made them family with the leaders of organizations such as Concerned Women for America, Naphtali said, as they work together for release of the hostages.
“We’re a family. And what we are is we’re a family that has come together,” Naphtali said, stressing that a deal is needed now to bring home “Omar and all of the hostages.”
