Itay Chen, a 19-year-old U.S. and Israeli citizen thought to have been a taken hostage on Oct. 7 was the truth is killed that day, his mother and father stated on Tuesday.
The couple, Ruby and Hagit Chen, stated that the Israeli navy advised them that it had intelligence indicating that their son, a service member, was killed whereas defending civilians on the border of Gaza through the Hamas-led invasion.
“Our hearts are damaged,” the Chens stated in a press release. “We liked him a lot, and we’d have carried out something to deliver him residence alive.”
In an interview with The Occasions earlier this 12 months, Itay’s father, Ruby Chen, described the younger man because the “lifetime of the occasion” and the “connector” of their household. A center little one, Mr. Chen stated, Itay was multitalented and fun-loving, a Boy Scout who, performed basketball and, like many younger folks, liked his PlayStation.
Itay grew up in Israel, within the metropolis of Netanya, simply north of Tel Aviv, however his father stated the household would continuously go to his personal hometown, New York.
“I need to take him again to Coney Island,” he stated. “I need to take him again to Madison Sq. Backyard.”
Till the announcement of his demise, Itay Chen had been counted because the youngest American hostage remaining in Hamas captivity.
Of their assertion, Itay Chen’s mother and father thanked the Biden administration and members of Congress for his or her assist. They added that they anticipated the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Biden to do “every little thing of their energy” to deliver Itay’s stays and the opposite hostages residence.
Ruby Chen was a part of a gaggle of American households who met continuously with U.S. officers to push the White Home to barter the discharge of their family members. 5 different People are thought to still be hostages in Gaza, and their households have stated that point is working out for them. A minimum of 30 of the full remaining 136 hostages in Gaza are believed to be useless, according to Israeli intelligence.
America, Qatar and Egypt had hoped to safe a deal between Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire that may additionally permit the discharge of a few of the hostages by the beginning of Ramadan, however no deal had come by the point the Muslim holy month started. Either side have blamed one another for the dearth of any progress on finalizing a deal,: Israel has rejected Hamas’s calls for for a complete cease-fire, saying that with out one other hostage launch, there is not going to be a pause in preventing.
Some family of Israeli hostages have demanded that Israeli officers take better motion to prioritize the discharge of their family members, mounting protests which have included storming Israeli Parliament meetings, blocking highways, conducting days-long marches and rallying exterior Mr. Netanyahu’s home. Different households have said that the Israeli navy ought to proceed waging battle in opposition to Hamas, even when it means their family stay in captivity.
In a statement, Mr. Biden stated he joined the Chens in grieving for his or her son and reaffirmed his pledge to by no means cease working to deliver the hostages residence.
“In December, Itay’s father and brother joined me on the White Home, to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve confronted as they prayed for the protected return of their liked one,” Mr. Biden stated.
“Nobody ought to must endure even sooner or later of what they’ve gone by. On the finish of our assembly, they gave me a menorah — a solemn reminder that mild will at all times dispel the darkness, and evil is not going to win.”