It’s now been more than 400 days since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th, 2023, killing more than 1200 people, and kidnapping more 250 others, including Israelis and foreign nationals. Of those, there are still seven Americans being held, four of whom are believed to be alive— including now-22 year old Omer Neutra, who grew up on Long Island in New York. 

With about two months until President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office, Mo News spoke to Neutra’s parents, Orna and Ronen Neutra, about how they think it could impact hostage and ceasefire talks. 

The Neutra’s spoke at the Republican National Convention and attended the Democratic National Convention. They’re main message: The hostage crisis is not political. 

Jill Wagner (@jillrwagner) is an Emmy and Murrow award- winning journalist. She's currently the Managing Editor of the Mo News newsletter and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News, Cheddar News, and News 12. She also co-founded the Need2Know newsletter, and has made it a goal to drop a Seinfeld reference into every Mo News podcast.