Hostage remains handed over Tuesday are those of dual US-Israeli citizen Itay Chen, Israel says

Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters via CNN Newsource

(CNN) — Israel on Tuesday said it had received the remains of Itay Chen, the last US-Israeli hostage held in Gaza, as part of the US-brokered ceasefire deal that came into effect last month.

Israel said it received a coffin containing the remains via the Red Cross in Gaza and later transported it to Israel’s national forensics laboratory where he was identified.

The confirmation of the identity of the remains means only seven deceased hostages remain in Gaza.

“For 760 days, our dear and beloved son Itay, a hero of Israel, was held captive by Hamas. Last night, we received the bittersweet news of his return home to Israel,” his family said in a statement. The family also said the bodies of the remaining hostages held in Gaza “must be brought back.”

Chen, a staff sergeant who served in the Armored Corps, had been stationed at the Gaza border on October 7. His remains were taken into Gaza after he was killed, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Chen was the second of three sons, a former Boy Scout and an avid basketball player, his father Ruby Chen previously told CNN. Friends described him “as the center of attention wherever he went, always cheerful and full of jokes,” according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

The office of the Israeli prime minister said the government “shares in the deep sorrow of the Chen family and of all the families of the fallen hostages.”

The latest transfer comes after Hamas handed over the bodies of three deceased hostages on Sunday. US President Donald Trump confirmed one of them was Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American dual national killed in the initial Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.

Last Thursday, Hamas released the remains of two other hostages, identified as Amiram Cooper, 84, and Sahar Baruch, 25.

The solidity of the Trump-brokered ceasefire had previously been testedafter Hamas said it handed over the remains of three deceased individuals on October 28, but Israeli authorities were unable to identify them as belonging to any of the hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas was resorting to “pathetic attempts to deceive us, the United States, and the world” and instructed the military to carry out “immediate, powerful strikes” in Gaza. Those strikes killed at least 104 Palestinians, including dozens of children, in what was the deadliest day since the beginning of the ceasefire.

Since then, however, the releases of the remains of hostages have proceeded as planned, and the ceasefire has largely held. In an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Trump said the ceasefire he helped broker is “not fragile” and was “very solid,” warning that “Hamas could be taken out immediately if they don’t behave.”

Meanwhile, Israel has been rocked by a scandal surrounding Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, the military’s top lawyer tasked with enforcing the rule of law within the armed forces. She has been placed under arrest as part of a criminal investigation into the leak of a video showing the alleged abuse, including sexual abuse, of Palestinian detainees in Israel’s notorious Sde Teiman military prison.

The video was first aired by Israel’s Channel 12 in August 2024. In May of that year, CNN spoke to three whistleblowers who detailed allegations of abuse at the prison. A month later, Israel said it would begin phasing out the facility.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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