Nearly three years after Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidyah Leiter, the son of Israeli ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter, was killed at the start of the Swords of Iron war, another of the ambassador’s sons, Master Sgt. (res.) Neriya Leiter, was seriously wounded Wednesday afternoon in an attack at a checkpoint on Route 443.
Neriya, a reservist and resident of Havat Yair in in the northern West Bank, was one of the officers in a police vehicle when a terrorist drove his car into him at the checkpoint. The assailant was killed by an IDF force at the scene. Neriya was evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where doctors are fighting to save his life.
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Master Sgt. (res.) Neriya Leiter, was seriously wounded Wednesday afternoon in an attack at a checkpoint on Route 443
Shaare Zedek said Neriya underwent complex brain surgery that lasted several hours, along with additional treatment.
“His condition remains very serious and his life is in danger. Extensive teams, including surgical and intensive care staff, continue to provide Neriya with life-saving treatment, while social workers are closely and sensitively supporting his family at all times,” the hospital said.
The attack occurred one day before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations, where the ambassador had been expected to accompany him.
Watch the attack at the checkpoint on Route 443
The ambassador, who is making his way back to Israel, wrote from the United States: “I thank the IDF and the medical team at Shaare Zedek, who are now fighting for the life of Neriya Dov ben Hannah, and I thank the people of Israel for their prayers. I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe that when the people of Israel unite, miracles happen. Neriya needs a miracle.”
His father added: “Neriya continued serving in the reserves after losing his older brother Moshe Yedidya Leiter, of blessed memory, and he has served hundreds of reserve days on different fronts since October 7. Palestinian terrorism seeks to uproot the people of Israel from their land. They choose death — we choose life.”
At the scene of the attack
(Photo: Shilo Shalom)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reposted the ambassador’s remarks and wrote: “My wife Sara and I, together with all the people of Israel, are praying for a miracle. Dear Yechiel, we are all with you.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “I am praying for the speedy recovery of Neriya Leiter, an IDF reservist who was seriously wounded in the attack at the Maccabim checkpoint, the son of Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter.
“Yechiel, I strengthen you and your family and pray together with all the people of Israel for your son’s recovery. I commend the heroic soldiers who eliminated the terrorist. To the IDF soldiers and security forces: I believe in you and trust you — we will not allow terrorism to raise its head.”
President Isaac Herzog said at the annual memorial ceremony for fallen Armored Corps soldiers: “Neriya Leiter is the brother of Maj. Moshe Leiter, of blessed memory, a hero of Israel who fell at the start of the Swords of Iron campaign in Gaza. An extraordinary man of many talents and a remarkable man of action.
The father of Neriya, and Israel's ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter
(Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Image North America/AFP)
“We send wishes for a full recovery to Neriya, and strength to his wife and to his parents, Hannah and Yechiel Leiter, Israel’s ambassador to the United States. Neriya is fighting for his life at this very moment, and we will pray for the recovery of Neriya Dov ben Hannah. I am certain that all of us, throughout our lives and in the fabric of our lives, are strengthening this dear family.”
‘It was not an easy decision to go back to reserve duty’
In May, Neriya wrote an emotional Facebook post after a two-and-a-half-month reserve deployment.
“We were called up at the start of the latest operation in Iran, and since then life shifted onto a different track — one where there are not really days and hours. Only missions, good people and the desire to do what needs to be done,” wrote the reservist.
“There are moments when it is worth stopping and saying a few words. Mainly for the people who are with me, and perhaps also for anyone on the outside who is wondering what their place is in this period.”
He added: “If there is one thing I learned during this period, maybe even a lesson for life, it is that we are champions at solving other people’s problems and the country’s problems as a whole. We all have opinions, thoughts, criticism and ideas about how a war should be run and how a country should be run. I do too.
“But amid all the noise, I came to understand again that the real question is not what everyone else needs to do — but what I need to do. What is under my control. Whether I am part of it or not. Whether I get on the train or watch it drive away.
“As a bereaved brother, after my brother Moshe, of blessed memory, was killed in the war, the decision to return to reserve duty was not easy at all. Something in my heart truly tore. But I could not stand on the sidelines while my friends did one deployment after another. I did not really have an inner option to stay home.
“And the truth? Despite all the difficulty, I feel an enormous privilege. A privilege to be part of these historic moments. A privilege to be with people who give of themselves without calculating too much. A privilege to be part of a group of people who are so different from one another in ordinary life — but when needed, everyone simply shows up.”
Neriya also described the difficulty of serving a reserve deployment in Lebanon without showers, with irregular sleep, mud and endless exhaustion.
“At 38, your body already reminds you that you are no longer 20. But being there with these friends is worth everything.
“My team is very diverse — from the center and the periphery, religious and secular, married with children and single. We have already stopped counting the reserve rounds — but everyone understands that you show up. Without complaining. With a spark in your eyes and with a desire to do what needs to be done as well as possible.”
Concluding the post, he wrote: “It was an enormous privilege to be part of this great undertaking. To see what the IDF is doing in Lebanon. To see how Hezbollah entrenched itself inside the villages, built infrastructure and stockpiled weapons — I could not help thinking about October 7 and understanding what they had planned for us in the north.
“We understood up close why we are there. So that people here can simply live in security. Truly, it amazes me every time how a group of civilians becomes soldiers in an instant. No complaints, no score-settling, the best atmosphere possible, with jokes that only we understand.
“A great opportunity to say a good word about the commanders and officers in the company. They give far beyond what is expected and, above all, are professionals. They give us the ability to follow them with our eyes closed.
“I will end with a sentence a friend wrote: ‘Only a sucker stands on the sidelines and does not take part.’ Because in the end, despite all the difficulty, exhaustion and price — it is a tremendous privilege to be part of the generation living through this period and not merely reading about it afterward. A privilege to be part of a legendary group of good people. A privilege to be in this company and on this team. A privilege to defend home.”
Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter was 39 when he was killed
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Maj. (res.) Moshe Yedidya Leiter, 39 when he was killed, was a company commander in Battalion 697 of Brigade 551 and had served as a team commander in the elite Shaldag unit. He was killed in battle in the northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 10, 2023.
About a week later, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife Sara visited the family to offer condolences, their first condolence visit of the war, and Yechiel urged them: “Continue until a decisive victory over Hamas.”
The prime minister told him he swore that would be the case.
The bereaved father also said: “The IDF is not only the most moral army in the world in its treatment of the enemy — it is also the most moral army in the world in its treatment of its soldiers and their families.”
Following a security assessment after Wednesday’s attack, authorities decided to reinforce the area.
In accordance with the chief of staff’s directive, it was decided to deploy the 98th Division headquarters in the West Bank and place it in command of the Judea and Etzion brigades.
The goal will be to improve effectiveness in dealing with terrorist incidents and with the expansion of settlements. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Sukkot holiday period, when thousands of people are expected to visit the area.