American-Israeli Hostages Update

The IDF announced Monday that an American-Israeli hostage previously believed alive was actually killed in Nir Oz during the Hamas-led attack on October 7 last year.

Omer Maxim Neutra, the 21-year-old grandson of Holocaust survivors, grew up on Long Island, New York, where he attended a Jewish high school. In 2020, he spent a gap year in Israel, and then enlisted in the IDF where he served as a tank platoon commander.

The news of Omer’s death came just days after Hamas released a video of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, 20, saying he has been held captive more than 420 days and begging the US and Israel to secure his release. Edan, who grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, also postponed college to enlist in the IDF. He was on patrol at a kibbutz when Hamas invaded and took him captive.

Edan is one of three Israeli-Americans believed still alive, including another grandson of Holocaust survivors, Sagui Dekel-Chen, 35, whose wife gave birth to their third daughter in December; and Keith Siegel, 64, an occupational therapist from North Carolina, who moved to Israel 40 years ago. Keith’s wife, Aviva, was taken together with him from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, but released November 26.

.The other four Americans — jazz musician Gadi Haggai, 73; his wife, Judi Weinstein Haggai; IDF soldier Itay Chen, 19; and Omer — are confirmed dead, but their bodies are still held captive in Gaza.

In total, 251 hostages were taken from Israel in the multi-front invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023. According to Israeli authorities, Hamas still holds 101 hostages — 97 taken last year and four others kidnapped in prior years. At least 37 victims are confirmed dead.

To pray for hostages by name, see this post on our Israel-Gaza-Lebanon page:

Pray for Israel Hostages in Gaza by Name

Father God. please comfort the families of Gadi, Judi, Itay, Omer and all those who were slain on October 7 last year. Protect Edan, Keith, Sagui and all the remaining hostages from harm. Care for their needs, and open the way for their safe escape and rescue. Please be their Shield and Mighty Warrior. Place Your angels around them, especially the women. Let them feel You with them and see Your angels guarding them. Bring to their mind Scriptures that point to the Messiah, and meet them in their dreams to show them the way to salvation. Lift the veil from their eyes so they will see Jesus as He truly is. Give each heart a hunger for You so deep they will cry out to You in the midst of their anguish and fear. Then answer them, please, O God, and have mercy on them. Quickly get every hostage safely home to their families, and do it in such a way that they know it is You. Open the eyes of the terrorists around them to see Your angel armies guarding the hostages, so they will drop their weapons, hatred and evil intentions in fear of the Lord and fall to their knees in repentance. Get up in their face. Invade their space. Step into their dreams and give them visions of Jesus calling them to believe in Him. Show them clearly You are a God of love, not hatred, and that the god of violence they serve is false.

O Lord, please bring a quick and right end to this war, resulting in true peace in this region that lasts. Drive every heart to desperately seek Truth and find You, Jesus. Make the way where there seems to be no way for Your gospel to reach those bound up by hatred and release them into Love. March in Your angel armies to give to You all this terrain Satan has worked so hard to control. Begin a church-planting movement that no amount of evil and terrorism can stop, that even every terrorist will be struck by the revelation of Christ and those bent on violence and murder will be stopped in their tracks, just as Paul was, and fall to their knees in repentance before the One who loved them and gave His life for them so they can be saved. From out of this catastrophically evil war, shine forth Your goodness and glory. Turn every eye all across the world to You. Lay flat every idol and raise up the name of Jesus in the mind and heart of every person, until every knee bows and every tongue confesses You alone are God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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