IDF reservist Neria Leiter, the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, was seriously wounded Wednesday in a car-ramming terrorist attack near the Maccabim checkpoint on Route 443, according to a report from The Jerusalem Post.
Leiter, an American citizen, remains sedated in serious condition at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited him before departing for the United Nations General Assembly.
His father, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, is returning to Israel and will not accompany Netanyahu to the U.N. gathering.
“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,” Leiter wrote on X. “I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neria needs a miracle.”
The attack brings renewed anguish to a family that has already sacrificed greatly for Israel. Neria’s older brother, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, was killed in Gaza in 2023 while serving as a company commander in the 551st Brigade’s 697th Battalion.
Neria continued serving after his brother’s death, completing hundreds of days of reserve duty on multiple fronts since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Palestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land. They choose death — we choose life,” Yechiel Leiter said.
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Police said the attacker rammed a patrol vehicle carrying an officer and a soldier during a joint operation. IDF troops killed the attacker as he attempted to flee. Authorities identified him as Muhammad Mahmoud Suleiman, 29, of Beit Ur al-Tahta.
Netanyahu said he and his wife, Sara, were “together with all the people of Israel, praying for a miracle.”
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, President Isaac Herzog and other Israeli leaders also called for prayer and expressed support for the Leiter family.
We must now stand with the Leiter family in prayer, asking God to heal Neria, strengthen those who love him and protect the soldiers and civilians of Israel amid the continuing threat of terrorism.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
