"Itay, I prayed for a different ending, but of all the possibilities that could have happened, of all the scenarios that raced through my mind, this was still the least terrible outcome of them all."
"Our journey has been a long one to bring Itay home, but we found many allies, good people who felt our suffering and pain and wanted to help us bring the hostages home."
"I'm sorry you waited so long to come home."
"I wanted you to be a hero, but without paying with your life."
Ruby Chen, a Brooklyn father, held a funeral at Tel Aviv's Kiryat Shaul cemetery for his 19-year-old son Itay after Hamas released the teen's body. Itay served as part of a tank crew assigned to protect Kibbutz Nahal Oz and was ambushed on Oct. 7, 2023. The father praised his son and his tank crew as heroes and vowed to hold accountable those who allowed the massacre to happen. Chen thanked President Trump, former President Joe Biden, and members of Trump's team for their assistance. Itay's mother, Hagit Chen, delivered a tearful eulogy and lamented her son's death; Ruby Chen vowed to continue advocating for release of the remaining slain hostages' bodies.
Read at New York Post
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