Father of missing 19-year-old American pleads for action
Itay Chen, a 19-year-old American citizen and Israel Defense Forces soldier, was at his IDF base at the Gaza border before he went missing over the weekend, according to his father, Ruby Chen.
"We got a message from him Saturday morning, 6:30 a.m., saying that there is bombing," Ruby Chen told ABC News. "That was the last time that we had any communication with him. Since then, he has been defined officially by the IDF as missing in action."
"My son, a U.S. citizen, is most likely in Gaza as we speak," he said.
The terrified father is pleading for action.
"There are multiple U.S.-Israeli citizens that are in the same situation as we are," he said. "What we are asking from President Biden, in addition to condemning, is being more vicious in his request from the Hamas to abide to international law when it comes to [prisoners of war]. That means that they need to identify each POW that they have. It means that they need to provide and take care of their health and they need to allow the U.N. … to come and visit those prisoners of war."
"Please help me," he said.
-ABC News' Michelle Stoddart