Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, two U.S. citizens whose bodies have been held hostage in Gaza since they were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.
“We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in the captivity of Hamas. Today I met with the families of American citizens Itay Chen and Omer Neutra. We will not rest until their — and all — remains are returned,” Rubio wrote in a post on X.
He included a photo of himself and Huckabee sitting with the families.
Huckabee also posted about the meeting and said that Rubio’s visit to Israel was “very productive in moving forward” the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan. However, he added that “[before the] plan can work, ALL hostages must be released!”
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Ruby Chen, Itay’s father, told Fox News Digital that it was the fifth time that he met with Rubio since he became secretary of state.
“It was important for us to receive energy from him after a number of days of no hostage releases,” Ruby Chen told Fox News Digital. “He gave us his commitment [that] they are focused on the release of all the remaining hostages with an emphasis on my son, a U.S. citizen. The secretary promised he will pass our meeting highlights to POTUS he is meeting later today in Qatar.”
Ruby Chen also met with Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance, as well as U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, during their recent visit to Israel.
Ronen Neutra, Omer’s father, also spoke with Fox News Digital about the meeting. He said that they “learned that the assumption is that Hamas is trying to gain time by prolonging the return of the hostages” so that the terror group can move freely in the areas that no longer have Israeli soldiers.
“After all the work that President Trump and his administration did, they deserve to get the Americans back,” Ronen Neutra said, referring to his son and Itay Chen. “We deserve to get our sons back and get our closure, and start to deal with the grief process, something that we’ve been postponing for the last two years.”
Ronen Neutra also expressed his gratitude towards the Trump administration for its efforts to end the war and get all hostages — living and deceased — home.
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All living hostages are now out of Gaza, but the remains of 13 deceased hostages have not been returned by Hamas. The Israeli government has reiterated its call for Hamas to return the remains of all the hostages.
Neutra and Chen’s parents were vocal advocates for the release of the living and deceased hostages. In July 2024, Neutra’s parents spoke at the Republican National Convention, while Chen’s parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. They have also met with people around the world, including several officials, as they fight to get their sons back.
Chen, a 19-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was initially believed to have been kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, while serving along the Gaza border, but he was later declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His body is still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Neutra, 21, a fellow American-Israeli from New York, was killed in battle that same day, and his body remains in captivity.
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Fox News Digital’s Amelie Botbol contributed to this report.
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