Father of Hamas hostage details family's ordeal as they await further word on son

Prior to Wednesday's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Ruby Chen, the father of U.S.-Israeli IDF soldier Itay Chen, sat down with ABC News to discuss his 19-year-old son and the possibility that he was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas swarmed through the concrete and metal barriers separating the Gaza Strip and Israel, orchestrating the worst terrorist attack on the state of Israel since its founding.

Itay Chen was serving in the IDF and was tragically killed on the border of Gaza on Oct. 7, according to a report received by Itay Chen's family. Ruby Chen talks about the uncertainty and challenges surrounding his situation.

His son's death was not reported to the family until several months later, and the family continues to hold on to hope that Itay may still be alive as one of the American hostages being held in Gaza.

ABC News sat down with Ruby Chen on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of American hostages.

ABC NEWS: For the loved ones of Americans held in Gaza, while there is relief with the prospect of a truce, there are still so many questions. Joining us now is Ruby Chen, the father of one of the seven American hostages in Gaza.

Mr. Chen, thank you so much for joining us. Your son, Itay, was a 19-year-old American member of the IDF serving on the border of Gaza on Oct. 7. Of course, he was tragically killed that day. Give us a sense of who your son was.

RUBY CHEN: A loving kid. He was the middle child of two of the siblings. Connect of the family. Love the sports. Avid basketball player. I am a New Yorker; New York Knicks fan. For the love of God, I do not know how, but he became a Celtics fan. You know, we typical, you know, families of a lot of sports fans and just wanting to enjoy life.

And in this world, it's mandatory to do the idea. You could have gone to college. But uhh went into the Army to protect values that, you know, we all believe in and, you know, surprise on Oct. 7 where there was a ceasefire and he did what he could. But we got the tragic news somewhere in March. We still are not positive that that indeed is what happened since Hamas did not give any indication. So we still have some hope that maybe things will come out differently.

ABC NEWS: As you said, it wasn't until March, several months later that you found out that your son allegedly was among those who died. How did you find out that information? CHEN: It came from intelligence. Again, it's second-hand information. So, you know, it's it's difficult to kind of process. And you didn't, you did not get to the gate of of being able to move on to the next chapter because this part of the process is not complete. And that's why we are still having some hope and wanting to get to the to the phase that we want to know what happened to him. And until then, anything that is the most way to define him is the fact that he is the hostage and he is a U.S. citizen.

ABC NEWS: How will you celebrate your son's life once he has returned home?

CHEN: But we haven't been able to get to that point. You know, we've been so consumed with being able to become reunited with him. And we traveled, for example, last week, we were in Doha, Qatar, talking directly with the negotiators because we felt, as the negotiators, need to hear from the families directly. And what we're looking for, which is a deal that not only has a framework for how the first dozen hostages come out, but actually how the last hostage comes out.

And we, when we get to that stage, Linsey, we'll just kind of process it and figure out what to do. It's uncharted waters.

ABC NEWS: If and when a ceasefire deal is met, what would you like to see happen next?

CHEN: We, of course, would like to see all the hostages come out with, of course, the fact that seven U.S. citizens. And making sure that the United States, for all its efforts on negotiating and providing guarantees and doing so much, you know, would be able to prioritize its citizens in coming out. And for us as a family, it's just finding a way to find the energy and find the path to move forward as a family and kind of cope with this situation we are in.

ABC NEWS: An analogy we all can relate to. Ruby Chen, the father of one of the seven American hostages in Gaza. We thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate your time, sir.

CHEN: Thank you for having me Linsey. Hoping for better days are ahead.