U.S. House Representatives held a moment of silence Tuesday night for American-Israeli Omer Neutra, killed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, after over a year of presumed survival.

Neutra, 21, an IDF tank platoon commander, was among the first responders to the Hamas attack that resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and over 250 abductions.

His parents, Orna and Ronen, who recently spoke with Digital, believed their son was alive despite IDF assessments that he and fellow soldier Nimrod Cohen were killed.

“For 420 days, Omer’s parents and brother Daniel, with widespread support, worked tirelessly to free their son,” stated Rep. Tom Suozzi, representing the Neutra family’s district. “They persevered through sorrow and hope, anxiety and determination.”

“Recently, we learned this courageous young man, this bright light, made the ultimate sacrifice,” Suozzi continued. “Omer was murdered on October 7; he hadn’t been alive for the previous 422 days.”

Footage shows Neutra and three others—Shaked Dahan, Oz Daniel, and Nimrod Cohen—being pulled from their tank by Hamas fighters.

Daniel and Dahan were initially presumed killed. IDF intelligence now indicates Neutra, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, was also killed on October 7, 2023.

The Israeli military hasn’t disclosed the source of this new information; Cohen’s fate remains unknown.

At a Tuesday memorial service in Omer’s Long Island synagogue, his father Ronen described feeling “breathless and empty.”

“For over a year, we breathed life into your being, my beautiful boy,” Orna said tearfully. “With hope and love, we persevered, keeping you alive in our hearts, refusing to succumb to despair.”

“Now, things are clear,” she said, “but not as we hoped.”

Orna and Ronen described Omer as loving, friendly, athletic, a capable leader, and someone whose October 7 actions saved lives.

Omer’s body, along with those of six other American hostages, is believed to be held by Hamas; the IDF assesses only three—Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, and Keith Siegel—are still alive.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s body was recovered after he and five others were found murdered by Hamas in Gaza tunnels in August.

Questions remain following the recovery of Itai Svirski’s body on Wednesday; he was an Israeli hostage taken during the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Be’eri.

The IDF confirmed he “was murdered in captivity by his captors, and his body was held hostage in the Gaza Strip.”