REMAINS of a 19-year-old Israeli-American soldier killed on October 7 have finally been returned from Gaza.
The body of Staff Sgt. Itay Chen was handed over on Tuesday night, nearly two years after Hamas terrorists dragged him into the Strip.
Israel confirmed Tuesday that the remains handed over via the Red Cross were Chen’s, ending a long and agonizing wait for his family.
The young soldier was the last slain hostage with US citizenship still held in Gaza.
His return came under a US-brokered ceasefire deal led by President Donald Trump, which forced Hamas to hand back all remaining hostages — living and dead.
The Israeli prime minister’s office said: “Following the completion of the identification process… IDF representatives informed the family of the fallen hostage, Staff Sergeant Itay Chen, that their loved one has been returned to Israel and positively identified.”
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Hamas had claimed it “found” Chen’s body in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood, an area long controlled by the terrorist group and devastated in fighting.
Israeli officials allowed Red Cross staff and even Hamas personnel to search for the remains.
Chen was on duty with his tank unit at Nahal Oz base when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7, murdering some 1,200 people and abducting more than 250 others.
His family last heard from him that morning as he reported his base was under heavy fire.
The IDF later confirmed he was killed in combat and his body taken to Gaza.
When the Red Cross transferred his casket to Israeli forces, the IDF draped it with the national flag and held a short military ceremony before escorting the body to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv.
Hamas has previously returned caskets that did not belong to hostages, a fact that made DNA confirmation essential.
Chen’s father, Ruby Chen, who led one of the most visible hostage advocacy efforts, wrote simply on X: “After 760 days, Itay is back home.”
Under the Trump-brokered ceasefire, Hamas agreed to return 20 living hostages and 28 bodies within 72 hours.
Yet Israel has accused the terror group of dragging its feet and exploiting the remains of the dead as political leverage.
Hamas claims rubble from Israeli strikes makes recovery “difficult” – a claim Israeli officials dismiss as another stalling tactic.
The Hostages Families Forum said Chen’s return brought “some measure of comfort” to a family that had endured “agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over two years”.
“We will not rest until the last hostage is brought home,” they added.
Chen’s return highlights the grim reality of the ceasefire.
Hamas still holds seven dead hostages, including Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose body has been in Gaza since 2014.
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Israel believes all can be recovered, but only through relentless pressure and uncompromising military control on the ground.
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