The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee met with the families of six American hostages taken in Israel, including that of Plainview’s Omer Neutra, to hear their experience during the war in the Middle East.
The bipartisan meeting was held on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in Washington D.C. The committee is made up of 49 members of Congress, including New York’s Gregory Meeks serving as the ranking member. Rep. Michael Lawler (District 17) and Rep. George Latimer (District 16) also represent the state on the committee.
“It is important that you articulate your pain to any and all people that will listen, but especially to members of Congress and others so that we can try to get them home and so that peace can try to have a possibility,” Meeks said at the beginning of the roundtable discussion.
Rep. Laura Gillen, who is not a member of the committee but was permitted to join the discussion, sat right next to Meeks. She shared remarks about the stories told by the families and released a statement following the discussion. Gillen showed appreciation for the Neutra family and their dedication to honoring their son and calling for the release of other hostages.
“Today’s roundtable was an important opportunity for members of both parties to hear directly from the families of Americans held in captivity by Hamas terrorists and share our deep determination to see every hostage returned home,” Gillen said.
Ronen and Orna Neutra, the parents of Omer Neutra, a Plainview resident who joined the IDF and was believed to have been captured during the Oct. 7 attack, but was later reported dead in Dec. of 2024, joined in on the discussion.
“To many, Omer was a symbol of the devastation caused on Oct. 7,” Ronen Neutra said while sharing his son’s story.
The discussion lasted for more than an hour and a half on Wednesday morning. It comes as hostages have been exchanged between Israel and Hamas. This is part of a three-step cease-fire agreement between the two sides that was initially agreed upon on Jan. 15.
