Ruby Chen, the father of U.S.-Israeli hostage Itay Chen told Newsmax on Friday that even if all 33 hostages are released by Hamas in phase one of the cease-fire agreement, “the job is not complete” until all the hostages come home.

Chen, who has both U.S. and Israeli citizenship, lost his son in the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Chen and his wife thought their son was a hostage, but in March 2024 they learned he was killed the day of the attack. Chen thanked President Joe Biden and President-elect Trump for working to get to a cease-fire agreement that included the release of some hostages but noted that “there will still be 65 hostages left in captivity with no guarantee that we will get to the second phase.”

“If all goes well, there will still be five American citizens that will be still in captivity, including my son. So it just means that there’s more work to be done. And the job is not complete. And that is why we are here in Washington,” Chen said during an appearance on “American Agenda.”

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.