The father of American hostage Omer Neutra, who was murdered, met with President Trump on Monday morning to discuss the ongoing anguish faced by families still waiting for the remains of their loved ones.
“Today marks one of our darkest days in the past two years,” Ronen Neutra expressed to The Post, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the return of his 21-year-old son’s remains.
Neutra, along with other families, had an audience with Trump shortly before his highly praised speech to the Israeli parliament, where they shared their mixed feelings of relief and ongoing suffering.
The families expressed their gratitude to Trump for his efforts in ceasing hostilities, Neutra shared, noting how heartwarming it was to witness living hostages return.
“However, we reminded him that our fight isn’t finished until the 28 deceased hostages are honored with a return,” Neutra added, mentioning that only four of those are anticipated to be returned today.
“It’s a perpetual nightmare for families like mine,” remarked Neutra, a Plainview native. “While 28 families, including us, occupy the Knesset benches absorbing celebratory speeches, we remain in the dark about when we might receive our sons back.”
“Will it be today, in two hours, in one week, or never? Being in such uncertainty is incredibly tough,” he continued.
“And until the last hostage is returned, there will not be closure. There are 28 families suffering, and until we have all of our loved ones, it’s not a proper celebration of victory.”
The organization representing the families of hostages indicated that relatives of the deceased were “shocked and disheartened to find out that only four deceased hostages would be returned today, out of 28 held by Hamas.”
“This is a clear violation of the agreement made by Hamas,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum declared on X.
“We urge the Israeli government and mediators to take swift action to fix this serious injustice,” the statement added, reaffirming that they will not abandon any hostage.
The father of Israeli-American hostage Itay Chen also described the distress surrounding Monday’s events, uncertain about his son’s fate or even whether he is alive.
Although the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed Ruby Chen that his 19-year-old son was killed during the October 7 attacks, they could not provide definitive proof, leaving him holding on to hope for a miracle.
Latest updates on the Gaza cease-fire agreement
- Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump rally crowds in Tel Aviv to celebrate the peace agreement
- 200 U.S. soldiers arrive in Israel as Witkoff announces IDF has completed the first phase of its Gaza withdrawal
- Trump prepares for journey to Israel to commemorate the historic peace deal while bracing the public for a grim hostage return
- Putin criticizes Nobel laureates for their inaction for peace, praises Trump for brokering the Gaza cease-fire
- U.S. military set to oversee the initial Gaza peacekeeping operations—no American troops set to enter Gaza
“President Trump expressed his ongoing commitment to the remaining 28 hostages, among them two U.S. citizens,” Brooklyn-native Chen shared with The Post after his meeting with the president earlier Monday.
“My family remains in limbo, anxiously awaiting any updates regarding the potential release of our son,” he said.
