What to know about the 8 hostages whose remains are still inside Gaza

JERUSALEM — Palestinian militants have so far released the remains of 20 hostages that were held in Gaza for the past two years as part of the ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war. But the process of returning the bodies of the last eight remaining hostages, as called for under the truce deal, is progressing slowly, with militants releasing just one or two bodies every few days.

Hamas says it has not been able to reach all of the remains because they are buried under rubble left behind by Israel’s two-year offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has accused the militants of dragging their feet and threatened to resume military operations or withhold humanitarian aid if all of the remains are not returned.

In the most recent release, Hamas returned the bodies of three troops killed during its Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Israel’s military said they were identified as hostages Omer Neutra, Oz Daniel and Col. Assaf Hamami.

In return, Israel has so far released the bodies of 225 Palestinians back to Gaza. Israel has not provided any details on their identities, and it is unclear if they were killed in Israel during the attack on Oct. 7, Palestinian detainees who died in Israeli custody, or bodies that were taken from Gaza by Israeli troops during the war. Health officials in Gaza have struggled to identify the bodies without access to DNA kits.

Here’s a look at the hostages whose remains have not been returned.

Itay Chen was an Israeli American originally from Netanya, in central Israel, who was abducted along with two other members of his tank battalion: Daniel Peretz, who also died, and Matan Angrest, who survived and was released from captivity on Monday. Chen loved basketball and studying human biology, according the Hostages Families Forum.

Chen was killed on Oct. 7 and his body was taken to Gaza. His father, Ruby Chen, has met frequently with American leaders about getting all of the hostages returned to Israel, including the remains of the dead. Itay Chen is survived by his parents and two brothers.