Body of fallen IDF soldier Itay Chen returned by Hamas

Matan Angrest, a former hostage who was a member of the same tank unit, paid tribute to his fallen comrade on social media.

"I never stopped thinking of you," he wrote.

"You’re finally back, my brother.”

Itay's father, Ruby, described him as a "wonderful son" and said: "[After] 760 days, Itay is back home."

However, Ruby also pressed Prime Minister Netanyahu to establish a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, something the government has so far resisted.

Following a meeting with Netanyahu and US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff, Ruby said that he told the pair his son’s sacrifice “must not be in vain” and that the more than 2,000 bereaved families and the “tens of thousands who were wounded in body and soul” deserve answers about the attacks.

The coalition has consistently resisted calls for a state commission — first arguing that such an inquiry could not take place while Israel was at war, and later claiming, as several cabinet ministers alleged, that Supreme Court President Isaac Amit could not be trusted to appoint an impartial chair for the panel.

Channel 12 previously reported that Amit was likely to appoint former Supreme Court President Esther Hayut, who has been outspoken in her criticism of the government’s judicial reforms, to lead the commission.

A Knesset committee this month rejected an opposition-backed motion calling for a state commission, with committee members from Likud, Shas and United Torah Judaism voting it down.

And it was reported in September that Netanyahu was looking to change the selection process for the members of an eventual inquiry, allowing them to be appointed by the government rather than the Supreme Court.

Per Channel 12, the premier is “examining” the prospect of “a governmental commission of inquiry with five members, holding the same powers as a state commission of inquiry”.

"Among those considered by Netanyahu [are] a retired judge and a retired general identified with the right,” it added.

The seven remaining hostages in Gaza, all confirmed deceased, have been named as Meny Godard, Hadar Goldin, Ran Gvili, Joshua Mollel, Dror Or, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Lior Rudaeff.