Hamas claims the destruction of Gaza has made locating all the bodies unfeasible.
By Corey Walker, The Algemeiner
Despite widespread celebration over the release of the last 20 living Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has still not handed over the remains of 19 deceased hostages, including the bodies of two Americans with dual citizenship.
The families of Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 21 — both American-Israeli dual citizens who were born in the US and served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — are intensifying calls for the return of their sons’ remains more than two years after they were murdered during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“My son, Itay Chen, is still in Gaza and we have no confidence he will be returned soon, as the deal signed does not provide guarantees that all the hostages will return this week. And until he, and every last hostage, is home, our fight is not over,” Chen’s father, Ruby, wrote earlier this week in an op-ed for USA Today, referring to the US-brokered ceasefire and hostage-release deal that halted fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists from Gaza kidnapped 251 hostages and murdered 1,200 people during their Oct. 7 rampage.
All the living hostages still in captivity were released on Monday as part of the ceasefire.
However, the Palestinian terrorist group has still not handed over the remains of 19 out of the remaining 28 deceased hostages, violating its obligation under the agreement to release everyone who was abducted during the Oct. 7 atrocities.
Israel has demanded full compliance with the ceasefire, accusing Hamas of flouting its terms.
Hamas claims the destruction of Gaza has made locating all the bodies unfeasible, saying that “significant efforts and special equipment” are necessary to continue the search.
“Israel has made this mistake before. Following previous wars, the government failed to bring home several captured soldiers, even when the world promised to help. Some of those soldiers’ remains have been lost forever. We cannot allow history to repeat itself,” Chen wrote.
Neutra’s father, Ronen, has expressed similar sentiments.
“I expect the United States to exert strong pressure on the mediators,” Neutra told Fox News Digital.
“We’ve heard that Washington has spoken directly with Hamas in Egypt, and we demand full implementation of the agreement — or serious consequences: halting humanitarian aid, and stopping the movement of goods and people through the Rafah crossing.”
“Our expectation is for President Trump to ensure that the two American citizens still held by Hamas — our son Omer and Itay Chen — are brought home for burial,” he continued.
“After two years of fighting for this, we deserve closure — and our son deserves proper burial in the land he loved and defended.”
Neutra added that he met with Trump on Monday and said the US president “assured us he would do everything to bring our children home.”
US Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Wednesday released a statement praising the release of the 20 living hostages while calling attention to the remaining captives in Gaza, adding that Israelis deserve both protection and honor in life and death.
“As we build on the progress we made with the first stage of the peace agreement between Israel and Hamas, I urge President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to keep applying pressure to fulfill the deal’s terms to return the remains of the deceased hostages still held in Gaza – especially the two Americans among them, Itay Chen and Omer Neutra,” Hoyer said.
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