Remains of deceased hostages Asaf Hamami, Omer Neutra and Oz Daniel returned to Israel

All three soldiers were killed battling terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023; 8 bodies of hostages still held in Gaza; PM vows to ‘eliminate’ last Hamas fighters in IDF-controlled parts of Gaza

The Hamas terror group returned to Israel the remains of three deceased hostages — Col. Asaf Hamami, Cpt. Omer Neutra and Staff Sgt. Oz Daniel — on Sunday evening, with Israeli authorities confirming their identities the following morning. All three were soldiers who were killed battling invading Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023, and their bodies were abducted to Gaza.

Military representatives notified the families of the three soldiers that their bodies had been returned to Israel by Hamas, following the completion of identification efforts by forensic experts.

The remains of eight deceased hostages are still in Gaza. Hamas has previously transferred remains that did not belong to any of the deceased hostages being held in the Strip.

US President Donald Trump had said on Sunday night that one of the bodies was that of American-Israeli soldier Neutra. The New York native’s parents confirmed the matter a short while later.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he spoke to Neutra’s parents following the news. “They’re thrilled in one sense, but in another sense, obviously, it’s not too great,” Trump said. “We’re very happy to have done it.”

Hours later, on Monday morning, it was confirmed that the other two bodies returned to Israel belonged to Hamami and Daniel.

Hamami, 40, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, was killed fighting Hamas terrorists in the Gaza border community of Kibbutz Nirim on the morning of October 7, 2023, and his body was abducted to Gaza.

Neutra, 21, a lone soldier from the US, was a platoon commander in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, and was also killed while battling Hamas terrorists on the border near Nirim during the onslaught, before his body was taken to the Strip.

Daniel, 19, served in the same tank as Neutra. He was also killed while battling the terrorists, and his body was abducted.

“The Government of Israel shares in the profound grief of the Hamami, Neutra, and Daniel families, and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” said the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement.

It said that Israel is “determined, committed and working tirelessly” to bring back all remaining eight deceased hostages for burial, adding that Hamas is “required to fulfill its commitments to the mediators and return them as part of the implementation of the agreement.”

Asaf Hamami, witty officer who loved his family

Hamami, 40, the commander of the Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade, from Kiryat Ono, was killed fighting Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Nirim on the morning of October 7, and his body was taken captive.

When Hamas launched its assault, Hamami was spending Shabbat at the Gaza Division base near the border with his 5-year-old son, Alon. He handed his son to the other soldiers to take him to a safe place and set out to battle the terrorists.

He was considered a Hamas hostage for eight weeks, until the IDF confirmed his death, officially listing his status as a “fallen IDF soldier held captive by a terror group” and his date of death as October 7.

Hamami’s death was declared by the chief rabbi, based on findings obtained by the military in the Gaza Strip. The findings allowed Hamami to have a funeral according to halacha, or Jewish law, even while his body remained absent.

He is survived by his wife Saphir and their three children, and his parents, Clara and Ilan.

He was remembered by his family and friends as a funny and witty officer, who “always strove to be first.”

“The way you fought and fell defined who you were. Family was so important to you, every time you talked about them it was hard to miss the smile and the sparkle in your eyes,” the then-commander of the Gaza Division, Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld said of him during his December 2023 funeral, which took place without his body.

His wife, Saphir, eulogized him at the time as “the perfect, most suitable partner for me.”

“Not many know how funny you are, how witty you are. Thank you, my love, for 17 years of great love,” she said, adding that her heart was “broken and crushed, but also at peace with your decision, because what hurts me so much today is also what made me fall in love with you.”

Omer Neutra, a natural leader

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 was taken captive.

His tank was attacked by Hamas terrorists with RPG fire and explosive devices. Neutra and two others — Daniel and Sgt. Shaked Dahan — in the tank were killed in the attack, and their bodies taken to Gaza, while soldier Nimrod Cohen was abducted alive to the Strip. Cohen was released on October 13, along with the other 19 living hostages. Dahan’s remains were recovered in August 2024.

Footage of Gazans standing around the burning tank and celebrating, and dragging Cohen 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.

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

Ronen Neutra said upon confirmation of his son’s return that he was “on Israeli soil.”

In a statement, Neutra quoted from the Book of Jeremiah: “’There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall return to their own land.’

“Our Omer is on Israeli soil,” he said. “Finally — so much pain and so much relief!”

Neutra is remembered by his family and friends as a “warm, funny, and optimistic person,” who loved “every person and the country with all his heart,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said.

Oz Daniel, a talented guitarist

Daniel, 19, of the 7th Armored Brigade’s 77th Battalion, from Kfar Saba, was killed on October 7 while battling the Hamas invasion of southern Israel, and his body was taken captive.

He was a member of the same tank squad as Neutra, Dahan and Cohen, and was stationed along with them at the IDF post between Kibbutz Nir Oz and Kibbutz Nirim.

His family said that after Hamas attacked the tank, Oz tried to grab a grenade from one of the gunmen and was shot and killed.

His family did not know his fate for several months, until in February 2024, the IDF declared his death based on new findings.

They decided to hold a funeral for him in Kfar Saba on February 26, 2024 – burying a blood-soaked uniform and stretcher – and to sit shiva, the seven-day Jewish mourning period.

He is survived by his parents, Merav and Amir, and his twin sister, Hadar.

Daniel, who began learning guitar in third grade, sparking a lifelong love of music, “believed in the power of music to change the world,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement upon confirmation of his body’s return to Israel.

His loved ones remember him as a “funny, moral guy who loved life, who always wore a huge smile,” it said. “As his many friends attested, Oz was everyone’s best friend.”

Body transfer

According to a Hamas statement, the hostages’ bodies were recovered earlier Sunday from a tunnel. In the statement, the group published a picture showing a body bag with Hamami’s name on it, while the other two were not named.

The group transferred the caskets to representatives from the Red Cross in southern Gaza, who then escorted the remains to IDF forces inside Gaza. After arrival in Israel, the bodies were taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification.

Hamas last handed over the remains of two deceased hostages, Amiram Cooper, 84, and Sahar Baruch, 25, on Thursday. The two bodies were identified within hours of arrival in Israel, and were buried on Sunday.

Israel has accused the terror group of dragging its feet on the requirement that it return all of the captives, as agreed in the ceasefire that came into place on October 10. The agreement required Hamas to return all 20 living hostages within 72 hours, and all 28 deceased hostages it could locate within that time frame as well — with Israel assessing that Hamas did not know the location of only a small number of bodies. While the group followed through in handing over all 20 living hostages, it only returned four of the 28 bodies still held in Gaza on the day the deadline expired. It has since slowly returned another 16 bodies.

Israel releases 45 bodies of Palestinians

Israel on Monday handed over the bodies of 45 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said.

For each hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians. Monday’s return brought the number of Palestinian bodies handed back since the ceasefire began to 270.

Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson at the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, told The Associated Press that the 45 released bodies of Palestinians were received at the Nasser Hospital in Gaza around noon.

Only about 75 of all the returned bodies have so far been identified, the ministry said. Forensic work is complicated by a lack of DNA testing kits in Gaza, it added. The ministry posts photos of the remains online, in the hope that families will recognize them.

PM vows to ‘eliminate’ last Hamas men in IDF-held areas

Hours earlier, speaking at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that there were two remaining Hamas pockets in Israeli-controlled territory in Gaza, one in Rafah and one in Khan Younis.

“They will be eliminated,” he promised.

Hamas’s “attempts to deceive us, the US, and the world” are pathetic, he said. “They will not succeed, and we will gradually bring back all our hostages. This is our commitment.”

“My directive is unequivocal,” Netanyahu said, stressing that the protection of troops in Gaza was his priority. “If there is any attempt to harm our soldiers, we strike those who attack and their networks — in defense of our troops.”

“We report to our American friends, but we do not seek their permission,” he insisted, after growing claims that key decisions on Gaza are being made by the White House. “I hear statements that are simply untrue. We retain full security responsibility and will not relinquish it.”

Promising that Hamas will be disarmed and that Gaza will be demilitarized, Netanyahu asserted: “It is an understanding I share with President Trump, and we are acting according to a clear framework. If it cannot be achieved one way, it will be achieved another way — and everyone knows what that other way is, and who will carry it out.”

As Netanyahu spoke to his cabinet about the importance of combating Hamas in IDF-controlled areas of the Strip, the military announced that it had killed a terror operative in Gaza City earlier Sunday after he crossed the Yellow Line, which demarcates the area of the military’s withdrawal.

The operative had approached troops “in a way that posed an immediate threat,” the military said, adding that shortly after he was identified, the Israeli Air Force struck him “to remove the threat.”

Palestinian media also reported that one person was killed in the strike, which took place in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya neighborhood.

As Hamas looks to regain control over the Strip’s civilian affairs during the ceasefire, Telegram channels affiliated with the group reported that operatives shut down several shawarma restaurants Saturday along Salah al-Din Road, which runs down the length of the Strip, as part of efforts to regulate food prices.

According to the reports, the restaurants were selling chicken at inflated prices, higher than what Hamas had permitted.

In recent days, lists of regulated food prices — apparently set by Hamas — have circulated on social media, outlining the rates that vendors must adhere to.

Hamas denies looting aid trucks

Also on Sunday, Hamas issued a statement saying that US accusations that the terror group looted an aid convoy in Gaza were “false.”

“The accusations by the US Central Command are false, lack field evidence, and are part of a systematic disinformation campaign,” said a statement issued by the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.

The statement came a day after the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) published a drone video showing what it said were suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck in the southern Strip on Friday.

In a statement, CENTCOM said the US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) — which is based in southern Israel’s Kiryat Gat — “observed suspected Hamas operatives looting an aid truck traveling as part of a humanitarian convoy delivering needed assistance from international partners to Gazans in northern Khan Younis.”

The CMCC, established under US leadership, is designed to coordinate humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance into Gaza while helping oversee the postwar stabilization phase. Roughly 200 American military personnel have been dispatched to set up the center, which currently hosts troops from several allied countries.

The CMCC was alerted to the incident through video surveillance from an American MQ-9 drone flying over Gaza as part of monitoring the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has said that Hamas steals supplies from deliveries by the UN and international aid groups. The UN has reported a significant decline in the looting of humanitarian aid in Gaza since the ceasefire came into place.

Just five percent of collected supplies were reportedly intercepted between October 10 and October 28, compared to more than 80% that were intercepted between May 19 and October 9, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said during a briefing on Friday.

The UN admitted in August that almost nine out of every 10 UN trucks that entered Gaza with humanitarian aid over the preceding several months were looted before reaching their destination, according to UN statistics — either by hungry Gazans or by armed groups.