US-Israeli soldier Itay Chen killed in 7 October Hamas attacks
Getty ImagesA dual US-Israeli citizen who was earlier believed to be held hostage by jihadists was actually killed in the 7 October Hamas attacks, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Itay Chen was a soldier for the IDF serving near the Gaza border.
The 19-year-old's body was taken by Hamas after he was killed and remains in Gaza, the IDF said on Tuesday.
More than 100 Israeli hostages are still thought to be held alive by Hamas.
The war began when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory air strikes and its ongoing ground offensive, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were devastated to learn of Chen's passing.
"Today, our hearts are heavy," he said in a statement. "I reaffirm my pledge to all the families of those still held hostage: we are with you. We will never stop working to bring your loved ones home."
Mr Biden said Chen's father and brother came to the White House in December to "share the agony and uncertainty they've faced as they prayed for the safe return of their loved one".
"No one should have to endure even one day of what they have gone through," Mr Biden said.
In a statement, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it shared "in the profound grief of the Chen family".
"Itay loved the land, going on hikes, and was a senior instructor in youth movements - a salt of the earth person," the group wrote on X.
Chen had decided to work at his base on the Gaza border on 7 October to get time off for his brother's bar mitzvah, a ceremony that marks the transition into Jewish adulthood.
His family lost communication with him after he told them his base was under attack.
"No one has been able to physically locate him - he is not in hospital, not on the deceased list," his father Ruby Chen, said at a news conference after the attacks.
One hundred and thirty four people are still being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, including 34 who are believed to be dead, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy wrote on Tuesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hopes that a 40-day ceasefire agreement could be reached before the start of the Islamic month of Ramadan this week have faded.
During a week-long ceasefire in late November, 105 hostages - most of them women and children - were freed in return for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
Israel says there have been 590 Israeli military casualties since 7 October.
