Gaza hostage father on Benjamin Netanyahu: 'We're not sure the priorities are right'

“We’re not sure the priorities are right,” Ronen Neutra told CNN’s Jake Tapper, commenting on how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is conducting the current war in Gaza and the hostage crisis.

“There’s no question the war must be won, and Hamas must be eradicated, but the hostages are running out of time,” he continued. 

He emphasized that one additional hostage was announced dead six months after the beginning of the war. “It just -- we are constantly under that fear and the urgency. It's not clear whether the Israeli administration has the priority right.”

The interview with Gaza hostage Omer Neutra’s family was aired on the CNN prime time show, “State of the Union.” Omer Neutra’s parents, Ronen and Orna Neutra, and Omer’s brother, Daniel, participated in the interview. 

In the introduction of the interview, Jake Tapper highlighted Omer Neutra, from Long Island, New York, holds dual Israeli-American citizenship. Tapper also noted that Neutra is the grandson of Holocaust survivors and explained that Neutra had decided to take a gap year and join the Israeli army. 

“Every day that we wake up, we're saying, what are we doing to bring our son back home? And we feel that we're failing day by day. And it's the six-month mark. We can't believe that,” Ronen began. 

Omer's mother and brother speak

Omer’s mother, Orna, said that “bringing the hostages back should be the top priority.” She added, “It should be a world top priority.” 

She emphasized that in Israel, everyone feels like “more needs to be done” and is “demanding more from the government.” However, she also said, “Different families have different perspectives on how to achieve that.”

Tapper then asked Daniel what people watching the show should know about his brother. Daniel responded, “My brother is a strong, friendly, amazing guy. He's a really funny guy.”

Daniel said that a lot of people have reached out to him to tell him how significant Omer was to their lives. “He’s really a person who builds communities around him, and, without him, these communities are lost. We don’t know what to do without him.”

He also shared that Omer was very active and involved with sports and youth groups, and as a consequence, was not home all the time, and he did not get to see his brother so often. 

He continued laughing, “As soon as I did, he would always come home, and the first thing he would do is just completely smother me in bed...wouldn't let me sleep, just fall asleep on top of me.”

He concluded, “And that's who he is. He's this really big and strong guy. But at the same time, he has this really soft core. And he's just this big, like, bear-like, hugging guy. And that's -- I mean, we really need him.”

At the conclusion of the interview, Ronen remarked to Tapper that “everything can end if Hamas gives back the hostages and puts down their weapons.” 

Tapper agreed, “Yes, the war would end today if they gave the hostages back and laid down their arms. Agreed.”

Tapper concluded by saying, “Thanks so much for being here. Next time, with Omer, OK?”