(USNewsMag.com) – New York City native Ruby Chen, the father of missing American-Israeli Itay Chen, 19, who serves in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is asking the Biden administration for help locating his son, who went missing during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Ruby Chen said he last had contact with Itay, who was born in New York City, on Oct. 7 when he stated, “They were under attack.” At the time of the attack, Itay had been stationed at the Gaza border. Ruby Chen stated that Itay is “defined as Missing in Action (MIA)” by the IDF, meaning that he has not been located physically, nor has he been identified or seen since Oct. 7. As he has not been listed as being hospitalized or deceased, it is believed that he is one of the roughly 150 hostages taken by Hamas to the Gaza Strip, where they are believed to be held hostage.
If Itay has been taken hostage, Ruby requests that he be treated as a prisoner of war (POW) and “treated according to international law.”
Ruby requested that the Biden administration “not take a back seat” in helping to rescue the American-Israeli hostages. He added that the U.S. government has resources that could be used and that it does things differently than Israel’s government. Ruby Chen asked that President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken “do what they can” to bring the situation to an end and “become family—whole again.”
So far, the U.S. government has not attempted to update relatives of missing Americans, according to Ruby. He said “it is a legit request” to have a State Department representative update the families.
As of Oct. 12, 25 Americans have been confirmed killed in the attacks that have left over 1,200 Israelis dead. It is estimated that 18 Americans remain missing and could potentially be being held hostage in Gaza.
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