It has now been close to two weeks since Hamas turned over all the living hostages and four that were deceased from Gaza. But 13 deceased hostages, including two Americans and a Thai national, are still being held.
Scripps News spoke with Ruby Chen, the father of Itay Chen, an American who died after being taken hostage by Hamas. The 19-year-old was at the time the youngest U.S. citizen taken into Hamas captivity.
His family says Itay’s body has not yet been returned. And Ruby says as deceased hostages are returned, waiting for news is a difficulty like nothing else.
"It's a feeling that's difficult to articulate. It's a phone call that is the worst phone call you'll ever get in your lifetime. And when you do not get that phone call, you feel disappointed. That is a very difficult set of emotions to have in one day."
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This week Vice President JD Vance, U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio were all in Israel, seeking to shore up the tenuous peace deal between Israel and Gaza.
"Mr. Kushner, Mr. Witkoff, Vice President Vance — I think them being here is not an accident," Ruby Chen said. "I think that's part of the pressure that the United States as well as the other mediators are putting on Hamas to bring back all the other hostages."
Watch the full interview with Ruby Chen in the video above.
