Parents of fallen soldier Itay Chen relieved by return of his body

Ruby and Hagit Chen, the parents of slain hostage soldier Itay Chen, offer a statement following the return of his body from Gaza last night.

“We finally can say, ‘Itay came home,'” says Ruby Chen, describing his son as a smiling kid who loved Israel and was proud to enlist in the IDF and to protect the land of the Jews.

He describes the events of October 7, when his son was wrested from a tank along with Daniel Perez and Tomer Leibowitz, both of whom were also killed, and Matan Angrest, one of the 20 living hostages, who was released back to Israel three weeks ago.

Chen says the family fought across continents to bring their son and the other hostages home.

On the 148th day after October 7, 2023, the family “received the terrible knock on the door,” telling them that their son would probably not return alive and that they should hold a shiva — the 7-day Jewish mourning period — for their son.

“I looked at my wife and we said, ‘That’s not happening because he’s not back, because of the commitment of government and the IDF to bring him back as they’re supposed to,'” recalls Chen. “We don’t finish this until he comes home.”

Chen says he asked people not to say the words, “his memory is a blessing” — a Jewish phrase used when referring to the deceased — when mentioning Itay’s name, until their son’s body was returned home.

“Now we’ll sit shiva,” says Chen.

He says that they will not stop fighting for the remaining seven deceased hostages until the last hostage is home and the fight is over.

Chen says that when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called him to express his condolences, he told the premier that the country cannot return to the divisive discourse that was widespread before October 7, 2023, and that his son’s death cannot be in vain.

He says that he told Netanyahu that a state commission of inquiry must be established, that the people of Israel, the bereaved families, deserve answers about what happened on October 7, 2023.

“Two years is enough time to wait for answers,” says Chen.

He thanks the Hostages Forum, US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and US hostages envoy Adam Boehler for their help, as well as the German government and German ambassador to Israel Steffen Seibert, Netanyahu and the IDF.

“The hostages’ families will continue fighting until the last hostage and hopefully that day will come very soon,” says Chen.

Hagit Chen, Itay’s mother, says there is no joy in laying one’s child to rest, but there is relief and there is peace for the soul.

“Every family of the fallen hostages deserves this bare minimum: a grave for their loved ones,” says Chen, listing the names of the final seven hostages. “We cannot leave these families living in dread that their loved one is abandoned in the ruins of Gaza.”