American soldier's death casts spotlight on foreign mercenaries in Israel

During last October's Hamas-led blitz on Israeli military sites and illegal settlements that were once Arab farms and villages, footage that quickly went viral showed a group of Palestinians standing on a tank partially engulfed in fire and smoke, while some Israeli occupation soldiers were seen dragged into Gaza.

The tank, according to Israeli media, was commandeered by Captain Omer Maxim Neutra, 23, who along with driver Shaked Dahan, gunner Nimrod Cohen and loader Oz Daniel, were taken by Palestinian fighters.

Fast forward to December 2, 2024.

Almost 423 days later, Israel claimed Neutra was killed on October 7 when his tank was attacked by Hamas with RPG fire and explosive devices, and alleged that his body is still being held by Palestinian fighters in Gaza.

The Israeli military has not explained how it arrived at the conclusion of Neutra's fate.

Hamas has not commented on Israel's announcement, but Neutra's presumed death has put the spotlight back on mercenaries from the US and other nations who have been fighting in the Israeli army, bolstering its occupation of Palestine and contributing to Tel Aviv's genocide in Gaza.

Neutra became the 48th American killed in the October 7 attack. It's unclear how many of the others who died had been serving with Israeli occupation troops.

An estimated 23,380 US citizens are currently part of the Israeli military, according to The Washington Post. Americans travelling to Israel for the purpose of helping consolidate the occupation of Palestine and those holding dual Israeli-American citizenship are said to be part of this huge military force.

Earlier this year, two Republican lawmakers, Guy Reschenthaler and Max Miller, introduced a bill that would provide the same employment and economic protections to American mercenaries serving in the Israeli military as US citizens who serve in the US military.

"Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally," Reschenthaler said in a statement at the time, confirming that more than 20,000 Americans are directly involved in the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

An estimated 600,000 Americans live in Israel and occupied Palestine. While some 45,000 to 60,000 Palestinian Americans reportedly reside in the occupied West Bank, an estimated 60,000 US citizens live in illegal Jewish settlements there.

War crimes and shocking behaviour

Hamas says the October 7 attack, which surprised its arch-enemy, was orchestrated in response to near-daily Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, illegal settler violence in the occupied West Bank and to put the Palestine question "back on the table."

Hamas-led fighters rolled into as many as 22 locations outside Gaza, as far as 24 kilometres from the Gaza fence.

At some places they are said to have gunned down many soldiers as Israel's military scrambled to muster a response. The hours-long attack and Israeli military's haphazard attack, including the controversial Hannibal Directive, resulted in the killing of more than 1,130 people.

Palestinian fighters took more than 250 hostages, and presently 101 remain in Gaza — four other Israelis were seized before October 7. The Israeli army says some 37 captives are dead. Hamas says many of them were killed in indiscriminate Israeli strikes on homes, hospitals and shops.

Neutra was a New York native and part of an estimated 30,000 foreign-born mercenaries, most from the US, who are reportedly fighting for Israel from at least 30 countries.

Many of these mercenaries and Israeli soldiers have documented their own war crimes in videos and images shared widely across all major social media outlets.

Since October last year, they have wiped out families in Gaza, pulverised neighbourhoods, dug up mass graves, destroyed cemeteries, bombed shops and businesses, flattened hospitals and morgues, rolled tanks and bulldozers over dead bodies, tortured jailed Palestinians with dogs and electric shock, subjected detainees to mock executions and even raped many Palestinians.

Exhibiting sadistic behaviour during the genocide, these soldiers have taunted Palestinian prisoners by claiming they were playing football with their children's heads in Gaza.

Israeli troops have live streamed hundreds of videos of soldiers looting Palestinian homes, destroying children's beds, setting homes on fire and laughing, wearing undergarments of displaced Palestinians and stealing kids' toys.

In their mission to erase Palestine, Israeli troops have killed a record number of babies, medics, athletes and journalists — unprecedented in any war in this century.

Troves of documents containing evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Israeli troops and their bosses finally became the basis for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his sacked Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Elusive Gaza truce

While Neutra's parents, Ronen and Orna, have been defending their son's choice to fight for the Israeli military, they led a huge campaign to secure their son's release. They spoke at protests in Israel and the US, and the Republican National Convention this year while keeping pressure on US President Joe Biden's administration in hopes of securing their son's release.

A few days before Israel announced news of their son's death, the Neutras told US broadcaster CNN, "We are hoping this is the last year that we are in this situation," adding "We have two presidents. We're calling on them to work together. The hostages don't have time to wait until Inauguration Day."

While building public pressure, the couple questioned Netanyahu's sincerity as well. In August, Orna wrote an opinion piece in the New York Post, discussing their meeting with Netanyahu.

"After meeting with the Israeli prime minister last week, we question his sincerity, as well as his sense of urgency. We understand the reality of politics — but the reality is that there is no more time. The hostages are dying and many are already dead. Omer's life, and the lives of every other living hostage depends on all parties making a deal. That needs to happen now. Not in a week, or a month, or another year," Orna wrote.

Later in September, the family sat for an interview with NBC News' "TODAY" show, calling for a ceasefire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.

Welcoming Israel's ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon — which Israel has violated more than 100 times since November 27 — the couple had expressed frustration that the deal was not tied to the release of the hostages in Gaza by the deal-brokers.

For the last 14 months, Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu has been consistently scuttling chances of reaching a ceasefire deal in Gaza, where Israel has killed nearly 45,000 Palestinians, wounded over 105,500 and displaced almost all 2.4 million residents.

Some 10,000 Palestinians are feared buried under the rubble of their bombed homes. Analysts say the death toll reported by Palestinian authorities in Gaza and considered reliable by the United Nations, is a cautious estimate and the actual death toll could be around 200,000.

Israel has also abducted some 10,000 Palestinians, many of them since October last year, who are languishing in Israeli jails and torture sites.

Hamas says it will release the remaining captives from Gaza if Israel frees Palestinian prisoners and vacates its troops from Gaza. But Netanyahu insists on freeing hostages using military might while his far-right government members seek to reoccupy Gaza.

With the Israeli military failing so far to recover the remaining captives, Netanyahu has resorted to involving cash awards in his bid to continue the genocidal war and simultaneously salvage hostages.

Last month, Netanyahu promised to give $5 million to anyone who brings a captive from Gaza, dead or alive, adding that those helping Israel will be given a way out of the war-torn Palestinian territory.

While Neutra's presumed death has dashed his family's hopes for his rescue, his family has urged Israeli and American leadership to ensure the return of all remaining hostages to their families.

"We call upon the Israeli government to work with President Biden and President-elect Trump, to use all of their leverage and resources to return all 101 hostages — living and the deceased — to their families as soon as possible," the family said in its latest statement.