US-Israeli citizen Itai Chen, who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, has been confirmed dead by the IDF.
Itay Chen, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier with dual Israeli-U.S. nationality, has been confirmed dead, the Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday. President Biden later issued a statement mourning Chen, who’s father the U.S. leader met late last year at the White House.
Chen had been serving his first year with the IDF when he went missing during Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 terror attack. He was one of six American men believed to have been taken by Hamas militants during the incursion into Israel, but it has now been confirmed that he died that day.
In December, Chen’s father and brother joined Mr. Biden at the White House, the president recalled in his statement, “to share the agony and uncertainty they’ve faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one.
No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through.”
The IDF confirmed Chen’s death Tuesday in a statement, identifying him as “a fighter in the 75th Battalion, an assault formation from the Golan, an IDF soldier kidnapped by a terrorist organization.”
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the body representing Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas, said it shared “in the profound grief of the Chen family,” and added that Chen had been “surrounded by friends.”
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