Israel’s ambassador to the United States pleaded for prayers Wednesday after his son, an American citizen and IDF reservist, suffered life-threatening injuries in a Palestinian car-ramming terror attack in the West Bank.
“Neria needs a miracle,” Ambassador Yechiel Leiter wrote as he rushed back to Israel from New York, where he had been preparing for media appearances surrounding the United Nations General Assembly.
Neria Leiter, 38, underwent several hours of complex brain surgery at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center after suffering a severe head injury in the attack at the Maccabim, or “Bell,” checkpoint on Route 443.
His condition stabilized following surgery, but hospital officials said Wednesday night that he remained seriously injured and his life was still in danger.
“I am grateful to the IDF, to the medical team at Shaare Zedek who are now fighting to save the life of Neria Dov ben Chana, and for the prayers of the people of Israel,” Ambassador Leiter wrote.
“I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen,” he added. “Neria needs a miracle.”
The attack brought another devastating ordeal for the Leiter family after Neria’s older brother, Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39, was killed fighting in northern Gaza in November 2023.
Moshe, a father of six who had been training to become a doctor, was serving as a company commander when he was killed alongside three other reservists.
“Neria continued to serve in the reserves after losing his older brother, Moshe Yedidya Leiter, of blessed memory,” his father wrote Wednesday, noting that Neria had served hundreds of reserve-duty days on multiple fronts since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
“Palestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land,” Leiter added. “They choose death — we choose life.”
Neria had previously written that returning to reserve service after his brother’s death was deeply difficult but that he could not remain on the sidelines while his fellow soldiers repeatedly returned to duty.
Despite the personal cost, he described serving as “an enormous privilege” and said it was a privilege “to defend our home.”
Israeli authorities said the Palestinian terrorist accelerated toward a police vehicle at the checkpoint and struck Neria, who was serving alongside a police officer.
Troops at the scene shot and killed the terrorist, identified by Israeli security officials as 29-year-old Mahmoud Mohammad Sliman of the nearby village of Beit Ur al-Tahta.
Magen David Adom said Neria was unconscious when emergency personnel treated him before transporting him to Shaare Zedek. Doctors said his head injury was the most serious and dangerous of his wounds.
Israeli Embassy spokeswoman Tal Naim said she was with Ambassador Leiter in New York when he received the news as the two were heading to another interview about the U.N. General Assembly.
Just beforehand, Leiter had spoken in a Newsmax interview about the price Israeli families have paid during the war, saying Israel sent troops into ground combat in part to avoid relying on large-scale aerial bombardment.
“We lost our children because of this,” Leiter said.
He immediately cut short his New York schedule and began returning to Israel rather than joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the U.N.
Before departing for New York, Netanyahu visited the Leiter family at Shaare Zedek and appealed for prayers.
“My wife Sara and I, together with all the people of Israel, are praying for a miracle,” Netanyahu wrote. “Yechiel, my dear, we are all with you.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee also called for prayers.
“Pray for Yechiel Leiter & entire family,” Huckabee wrote. “They lost a son in Gaza, killed by Hamas. Now a Palestinian terrorist attempts to murder IDF soldiers at a checkpoint.”
“Standing w/ Yechiel Leiter,” he added.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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