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“When was the last time you spoke to your child? Do you know where you slept last night? Do you know what you ate? Do you know if you had a blanket on you?” Hamas on October 7, 2023 Ruby Cheng, the father of Itai Cheng, who was taken away, asked this in a sit-down interview on Fox News Digital.
“All of these kinds of questions are questions we ask ourselves all the time,” he says. “I feel like a failure.”
Itai, who was 19 when he was taken, has been in Gaza for 365 days since his Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit was attacked in southern Israel when Hamas terrorists flooded the border in a series of large-scale attacks. He is being held hostage.
Chen, a New York City native, said he and his wife were given “unprecedented” access to the White House, CIA and other top agencies throughout the last year to discuss the ongoing strategy to extricate the hostages from Gaza. said.
IDF Sergeant Itai Cheng was on duty along the Gaza border when he was taken hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7. (IDF)
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The Chens have met more than a dozen times with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, CIA Director William Burns, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, as well as weekly phone calls with the White House.
Ultimately, however, these efforts have fallen short when it comes to the real needs of American families whose loved ones are still being held hostage by Hamas.
“We have been betrayed by the Israeli government. We, the American people, feel betrayed by the Biden administration, despite all the access the Biden administration has given us.” “They share as much as they can. But at the end of the day, it’s… very black and white.
“where is he?”
Itai Chen was taken hostage on October 7 and was confirmed dead, Israeli officials said. (Fox News)
Chen explained that after the October 7 attack on Israel, the Israeli government pursued a strategy to secure the release of 251 hostages at the time by shelling suspected Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip.
In the first weeks after Hamas’s deadly attack, Israel began shelling northern Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed the move would bring Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “to his knees” and make him “open to releasing the hostages.”
A week-long ceasefire in November resulted in the release of 105 hostages. The other 12 hostages were released either as a result of negotiations immediately after the attack or during IDF rescue operations from February to August.
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None of the eight kidnapped American hostages have been released, including Hersh Goldberg-Pollin, who was killed by terrorists along with five others, and whose bodies were discovered by the Israeli Defense Forces in late August. , only seven people remain in Hamas custody. group.
More than 100 hostages are still being held in the Gaza Strip, 97 of whom were abducted on October 7, 2023.
American hostage captured by Hamas terrorists and held in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Chen, other American families, and the international community have repeatedly called on Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement and return all hostages to their families.
But as U.S., Egyptian and Qatari officials strive to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas, disagreements over the Gaza Strip security corridor have created a seemingly insurmountable hurdle.
The father of an IDF soldier pointed out that as long as no one discusses “later” plans for the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians there, Hamas will continue to hold tight to its most powerful bargaining chip: the hostages.
WASHINGTON DC – DECEMBER 13: Jonathan Dekel Chen, father of Sagui Dekel Chen, surrounded by other family members of Americans taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. Ruby Chen, Itai Chen’s father. Speaking to reporters after meeting with President Biden at the White House on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
“The next day, where is Hamas? And if no one is willing to talk about it, Hamas believes it is better to keep the hostages until something changes,” he explained. “This is a jihadi organization. They want chaos. They want regional conflict.
“Knowing that there is a conflict going on with Lebanon right now does not motivate them to sign a cease-fire agreement. Rather, they want to belong and they want other players to join them in this jihad against Israel. I want to have it,” Chen continued. “So the question is, what’s the plan?”
“I’m very critical of this era,” Itai’s father said. “For the last 10 months, I’ve been asking Dr. Sullivan, ‘What is Plan B?’
“I have never heard of Plan B. That is unacceptable,” he added.
A man walks in front of a shelter tent erected near a collapsed building in the Blij camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza on October 1, 2024. (Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)
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Securing peace in the region has become even more precarious since last week, when Israel launched an invasion of southern Lebanon with the stated intention of dismantling the Hezbollah threat, against the objections of the United States and its international allies. It became.
Chen noted that this second front not only added a new dimension to securing the release of hostages, but also appears to have put negotiations with Hamas on the back burner as concerns about broader regional conflict remain high. .
“If you follow the news, you’ll see that the hostage situation has been lowered in priority,” he said. “It’s very painful for us and our families.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said securing the release of the hostages is his top priority, but his refusal to withdraw from the Philidelphi Corridor for security reasons has stalled negotiations, making it clear that the prime minister is really putting the hostages above his own policy. Questions are starting to rise as to whether this is a priority. Promote the “elimination of Hamas.”
However, Itai’s parents described him as a “fun-loving child,” the “sandwich” of the family consisting of an older and younger sibling, everyone’s “best friend,” and a former boy scout who has grown into a young man with a lot of heart. has been done. He cannot allow his loving girlfriend and the others still in Gaza to be at the mercy of political agendas.
“I’m a guy from New York City, and we talk less and focus on action. Last year’s actions have shown the opposite,” Chen said. “He can say whatever he wants. I don’t believe what comes out of his mouth. I believe in his actions.”
The father of three also called on the Biden administration to ask whether it was still in America’s strategic interests to explicitly support Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the 79th United Nations General Assembly on Friday, September 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
“Neither side is to blame for the failure of negotiations. I don’t see an equation that says, ‘Okay, if you don’t do A, there will be consequences for both sides.'” He mentioned it with reference to. . “There are no consequences for negative actions against U.S. strategic interests.”
Chen also argued for the need to apply “effective pressure” on Hamas by reevaluating what other “pressure points” are available.
The father said tougher economic and diplomatic engagement is clearly needed when it comes to international aid sent to Gaza, including tougher sanctions not only on adversaries but also on partner countries that allow aid to flow into Gaza. he pointed out.
This includes increased scrutiny of UN-provided humanitarian aid, which is targeted at the Palestinian people but is in the hands of Hamas, an organization not designated as a terrorist organization by the UN.
Hamas has long been accused of seizing essential goods in the Gaza Strip and reselling them on the black market at exorbitant prices.
Additionally, the report found that Hamas had significant access to financial aid over the years, siphoned off from funds provided by top agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which was used to build the tunnel. It has been shown that it has been used directly in operations against Israeli combatants, including access and access. into a weapon.
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Itai Chen’s father begged President Biden to help his family find his son. (Obtained from FOX News)
However, apart from the substantive need to address aid-based concerns, Chen also argued that diplomatic solutions are not fully recognized by the United States.
Countries such as Russia and Thailand have secured the release of their nationals taken by Hamas, and Mr. Cheng said Washington was able to negotiate with its arch-enemy just months ago to free American citizens from Russian prisons. He also argued that efforts should be made to secure similar measures. the release of those detained in Gaza;
“So it’s possible,” Chen said. “Complicated, yes. Doable, yes.”
“The assumption that was initially put before us was that the American hostages would be rescued by a larger agreement that Israel would be a part of. And if that assumption doesn’t work out a year later, then yes, we will. ” Challenge the regime and examine its assumptions.
“Will it still be valid after a year?”
