‘There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall return to their borders.’
By The IDF Club
Israel awoke Monday morning to the solemn news that the bodies of three fallen heroes — Lieutenant Colonel Asaf Hamami, Captain Omer Neutra, and Sergeant Oz Daniel — had been brought home from Gaza, more than two years after they were slain defending the nation during Hamas’s October 7 massacre.
The Israel Defense Forces announced that forensic experts, in coordination with the Israel Police, the Military Rabbinate, and the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, completed the identification process early Monday.
Lieutenant Colonel Asaf Hamami, 41, commander of the Southern Brigade of the Gaza Division, was among the first to respond to the Hamas invasion. When rockets began to fall that morning, Hamami immediately left his base at Re’im with his command team, heading straight toward the front lines.
Upon spotting hundreds of armed terrorists breaching the border fence, he was the first to report over the radio that war had begun, ordering the rapid mobilization of all available forces and alerting local defense units.
With only two soldiers by his side — Staff Sergeant Tomer Achimas and Sergeant Kirill Brodsky — Hamami confronted waves of terrorists, fighting until the end. All three were killed in the battle and their bodies were seized by Hamas. Hamami’s courage and quick command decisions are now credited with helping mobilize IDF forces across the southern front in the critical opening moments of the war.
Sergeant Oz Daniel, 19, of the 77th Battalion in the Golan Armored Brigade, also fell in combat on October 7.
He and his tank crew fought bravely against Hamas infiltrators near the Gaza border. For 141 days, Daniel was listed as missing until military rabbis confirmed his death based on evidence recovered from the field. His mother, Meirav, told Kan Reshet Bet this morning that although the news brought no joy, it ended months of painful uncertainty. “It’s not the way of the world to bury a child, or to beg that your child be brought for burial,” she said. “But it is closure. Oz was full of light, love, and gratitude. He was a person of values, who always brought joy to those around him.”
Daniel’s father added that his son had vowed never to surrender if captured. “He said he would resist and fight until the end — and that is exactly what he did. Oz never gave up.”
Captain Omer Neutra, 22, an Israeli-American from Long Island, left what his family described as “a comfortable life in New York” to serve “on the front lines in defense of Israel and its people.” He was killed in combat alongside his tank crew and taken into Gaza.
“His courage inspired those who served with him and those who came to know his story around the world,” his family said. “For 758 days, we lived between hope and heartbreak. Today, that long night ends with the knowledge that Omer is finally home. Our hearts are shattered, yet we can begin to bring Omer to his final resting place in the land he loved and defended.”
His father, Ronen Neutra, wrote late Sunday night, “Finally. So much pain and so much relief. ‘There is hope for your future, declares the Lord, and your children shall return to their borders.’”
In its official statement, the Prime Minister’s Office affirmed that Israel remains “determined, committed, and working tirelessly to bring back all of our fallen hostages for a proper burial in their homeland.” The statement added that Hamas “must fulfill its commitments and return the remaining bodies,” stressing that Israel “will spare no effort until every last hostage is home.”
These men are remembered not only as fallen soldiers but as defenders of Israel who stood their ground against unimaginable odds. Their heroism — and the nation’s unbreakable promise to bring every soldier home — remain enduring testaments to the spirit and courage of the Israel Defense Forces.
