The 19-year-old was killed in a terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, 2023.
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Hamas has returned the body of 19-year-old Itai Chen from New York City, the last remaining American hostage in Gaza after the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel.
Israeli authorities confirmed on Tuesday, November 4, that they had received Mr. Chen’s remains, more than two years after he was killed in a cross-border raid by Hamas fighters while serving in the Israel Defense Forces.
The news resonated in Israeli and American Jewish communities alike, and finally gave Cheng’s parents some closure.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Chen’s mother, Haggitt, posted a post thanking friends and family for “the love and support they have given us. We still cannot digest it all. Our Itai is back and no longer kidnapped.” she wrote on social media. “I’m sending you all a hug. Thank you for not giving up on me and us for 760 days.”
For two years, Haggitt and her husband Ruby refused to observe the traditional seven-day Jewish mourning period of Itai. Ruby Chen said she wouldn’t do that if she didn’t have a body.
The Chens were informed of their son’s death last year., Now living in Israel, they held out hope that Itai would return alive. After more than two years or agonizing speculation, they spoke of him in the present tense and prayed for a miracle.
Now, the Chens can finally see Shiva and bury their middle child, whom they often called the glue that held their family together. The funeral will be held on Sunday, November 9th at the Military Cemetery in Tel Aviv.
“My heart is broken. There is no joy in accepting eternal rest for a child,” Hagit Chen added at a Tel Aviv press conference on Wednesday. “But there is peace, there is rest for the soul. Mine and his. Every family of a fallen hostage deserves the bare minimum: a grave to be built for their loved ones.”
The Chens, who have been lobbying world leaders for the release of their son and other hostages, also used the opportunity to call for the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
Hamas returned the last 20 living hostages to Israel on October 13 as part of a ceasefire agreement. However, they have not kept their promise to return the bodies of the deceased hostages. Hamas says the devastation of the war has made it difficult to search for the hostages. Israel accused Hamas of stagnation.
To date, the remains of the seven hostages have not yet been returned from Gaza.
Itai’s return resulted in the return of all six abducted Americans. The body of Omer Neutra, another IDF soldier from the New York area, was returned on November 2nd. Israeli forces recovered the remains of American Hersh Goldberg Pollin in August 2024, and the bodies of Judy Weinstein and her husband Gadi Hagai in June.
Sagi Dekel-Cheng and Keith Siegel were released alive in a cease-fire agreement in February. Edan Alexander, a Tenafly native who was released in May, was the last American hostage to be freed. He recently returned to Israel and said he plans to redeploy to the Israel Defense Forces early this year.
Itai Chen was serving as a sergeant in a tank unit when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages to Gaza. His body was taken to Gaza and hidden, Israeli authorities said.
Itai was born in New York City, his father’s hometown. But the family moved away, and Chen spent most of his life in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya. Friends and family said he was an intense basketball player who enjoyed dancing, hiking and visiting New York. According to friends and family, he joined the Israel Defense Forces not only to fulfill Israeli military service obligations, but also out of love for Israel.
Itai was not supposed to be at the army base the weekend of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, but was replaced with another soldier so Chen could attend his brother’s bar mitzvah the following week, his family said.
Chen’s name was mentioned at the Oct. 15 funeral for Daniel Peretz, a tank commander whose remains were returned earlier that week. Another freed hostage, Matan Angrest, paid tribute to Peretz and said he hoped Chen would return home as well. The three were on duty together when Hamas attacked. Mr. Peretz and Mr. Chen were murdered, their bodies abducted, and Mr. Angrest was taken alive to Gaza.
After news of Cheng’s release, Angrest posted a photo of his fellow soldier on social media and said: “I never stopped thinking about you. You’re finally home, little brother.”
Chen’s story resonated far beyond Israel’s borders.
Jason Shames, CEO of the Jewish Federation of New Jersey in Paramus, was in Israel when Chen’s body was released. He said his joy was “muted” and “clouded by my own loss”, also with the knowledge that there were seven more bodies in Gaza, including those of the October 7 victims from Tanzania and Thailand.
Shames said Chen’s death deeply touched her. Chen’s life was similar to that of her own son, who also attended Schechter’s school and had similar interests.
“It’s very difficult for him not to come home alive.”,” Shames said. ”He was instilled with the right values and died a hero. ”
Deborah Schatz, a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey, said she attended weekly hostage marches and often held Chen’s photo in her arms and shouted, “Take me home!”
She also hung Chen’s photo alongside Omer Neutra’s photo in the front window, along with photos of other hostages. Every night, she says, she pulls out her well-worn Hebrew prayer book and recites special prayers and psalms. “I have been praying for the return of all the hostages, dead and alive.”
Finally, this week, she was able to pick up a black Sharpie marker and write the word “home” next to both photos.
“They are especially meaningful to me because they are American,” Schatz said. “We hope that the return of the bodies will give some sense of closure to the families.”
