The bodies of the hostages Asaf Hamami, Omer Neutra, and Oz Daniel returned to Israel

The bodies of the hostages Asaf Hamami, Omer Neutra, and Oz Daniel were returned to Israel, the Prime Minister’s Office officially announced on Monday morning.

The bodies were transferred to Israel last night by the Red Cross and were identified overnight.

Eight bodies of hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip.

Beloved commander and family man: The heroism of Asaf Hamami

Colonel Asaf Hamami was the commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division. He was killed on the first day of the war, Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was taken into Gaza.

That Saturday, his five-year-old son was spending the weekend with him at the Gaza Division base. When Hamami went out to fight the terrorists, he handed his son over to soldiers at the base and told them to take him to a safe place.

Hamami fell during the first hour of Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, in the battle at Kibbutz Nirim.

Hamami began his military career in the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion. Before being appointed commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Division, he served as deputy commander of the Northern Brigade, commander of the Tzabar Battalion in Givati, and commander of the Negev Brigade.

In April 2010, Hamami received the Chief of Staff’s Citation for Excellence, awarded by then-Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

Omer immigrated from Long Island – and joined the IDF

Ronen, the father of the fallen hostage, Captain Omer Neutra, wrote last night that his son had been brought back to Israeli soil. “At last. So much pain, and yet such relief,” he wrote.

He added the bible verse: “There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and your children shall return to their own border.”

Shortly before that, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters aboard his plane that Hamas had returned Neutra’s body to Israel.

“We brought back three fallen hostages,” the President said to reporters. “I spoke with Omer Neutra’s parents from New York. Of course, they are very happy in one sense, but in another, it’s not a good day. Three bodies came home today, and we’re still looking for the others.”

Captain Omer Neutra immigrated to Israel from Long Island. On the morning of Oct. 7, he was with his tank crew—Nimrod Cohen, Oz Daniel (whose body was also returned last night), and Shaked Dahan—at the White House outpost near Nir Oz.

Under heavy rocket and missile fire from Gaza, Omer and his crew drove toward the border in an attempt to repel the attack. During the battle, the tank was hit, and Omer and his crew were taken into Gaza.

For 421 days, Omer’s fate remained unknown. In December 2024, the IDF Chief Rabbi ruled that Omer had been fatally wounded in battle and had died in Hamas tunnels on the day of the abduction.

Alongside Omer, two members of his crew—Sergeant Shaked Dahan and Sergeant Oz Daniel—were also killed. The fourth crew member, Nimrod Cohen, who was kidnapped to Gaza, was returned to Israel last month. As noted, Oz Daniel’s body was also returned last night.

Omer fell just one week before his 22nd birthday.

Oz was a fighter who dreamed of conquering stages

Sergeant Oz Daniel, a fighter in the 77th Battalion of the Storm from the Golan formation, went out to battle the terrorists with his tank crew on Oct. 7 and was kidnapped to Gaza during the fight. For 141 days, he was listed as missing until the IDF Chief Rabbi determined his death based on evidence that made it possible to do so.

Amir Daniel, Oz’s father, told Kan Reshet Bet radio, “Oz was a musician. He played electric guitars, loved mostly heavy rock—but not only that—and he did everything with excellence. He dreamed of conquering stages in Israel and around the world. It was very important to him to do meaningful military service. He loved the tank and the camaraderie. They were amazing kids. That day, they went into battle with zero intelligence. The entire crew were heroes. The tank was damaged. They took RPG hits and were targeted with two explosives.”

“Oz resisted; he didn’t give up. In conversations with his mother, Meirav, before the war, he told her that if they ever tried to capture him, ‘I won’t sit in captivity. I’ll resist and do everything I can not to be taken prisoner.’ And that’s exactly what Oz did in the end—he didn’t give up; he fought back and resisted. My relationship with Oz was much more than that of a father and son—he was my soulmate.”

The eight hostages still held by Hamas are:

Itay Chen

Lior Rudaeff

Dror Or

Meny Godard

Ran Gvili

Hadar Goldin

Joshua Loitu Mollel

Sudthisak Rinthalak