The White House revised down its estimate for American hostages held by Hamas Tuesday afternoon.
The Israeli military announced earlier in the day that Itay Chen, an Israeli American member of the Israel Defense Forces, was killed on Oct. 7 and that Hamas is still holding his body in Gaza. Chen was previously believed by the Biden administration to be one of the six American hostages held by Hamas.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed Chen’s death during Tuesday’s White House press briefing.
“This hits hard for us. This news, it hits hard for the president. It’s hard for me, it’s hard for a wide number of people who you guys have never heard of in the U.S. government who were working tirelessly for Itay’s release,” he told reporters. “I can’t imagine what the family is going through.”
“We’ve been straight with you from
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