Father of soldier killed on 7 October calls for hostage deal to ensure his body is returned
The father of an Israeli soldier killed during the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October has called for a hostage deal to ensure his son’s body is returned home.
Itay Chen, 19, was serving as a soldier when Hamas carried out its surprise attack, sparking the now five-month war in Gaza.
The dual US citizen was believed to have been held hostage, but the military confirmed his death yesterday.
“We know that they were in some sort of a battle and we lost
contact with him, or the army lost contact with him, after a few
hours,” Itay’s father, Ruby Chen, said.
“The analysis
after a couple of days was that he was kidnapped by Hamas. And
he is still, as we speak, in Gaza.
“Even though we were given intelligence that provides an
understanding that Itay is not alive, we still need a hostage
deal, because that’s the basic human requirement that I think
any viewer can relate to, is that we want a funeral site.”
Mr Chen said it “meant a lot to us” to have Joe Biden call the family and offer his condolences.
More than 130 Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza, though some have been declared dead in absentia by the Israeli authorities.
Mr Chen appealed to Hamas to return his son, saying: “As a father, as a parent, you want to have your son back
and be able to mourn for him.
“And I call to Hamas
again – are you humans? Or do you wish to continue to cause
suffering, just for the case of suffering?”
