Tel Aviv: Two years after the October 7, 2023, attack, the remains of 19 Hamas hostages remain missing. Their families say their grief and wait are far from over—and they feel betrayed by their own government.

Ruby Chen is the father of the deceased Israeli soldier Itay Chen who was killed and abducted by Hamas in 2023.

Tamir Adar, a volunteer responder at the Nir Oz kibbutz, left his wife and two children in a safe room and said, "I'll be back in two minutes."

He had no idea that hundreds of Hamas gunmen had breached their community's fence and entered Israel that day.

His brother Nir, 36, says, “Even today his son asks, ‘When will Papa come?’ He said, ‘I’m coming back.’”

Tamir, 38, was shot in the stomach while fighting 150 Hamas militants. His job was to hold off the attackers for 20 minutes so the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) could arrive—but the soldiers never arrived. Tamir and his companions fought for two hours.

At 8:26 AM, he texted his wife – “Don't open the door. Not even if I'm here.”

He was then seriously injured and taken by Hamas fighters to Khan Younis in Gaza. His death was confirmed in January 2024.

Nir said he had no information for three months. Nir's neighbor, Shiri Bibas (32), and her children were also killed in Gaza. According to forensic reports, the children were killed “bare-handed” – but Hamas claimed they died in an Israeli airstrike.

Nir's grandmother, Yaffa Adar (85), was also kidnapped by Hamas on a golf cart, but she returned a month later. Nir believes she and her two daughters only survived because she held on tightly to the safe room handle as attackers tried to break in.

This week, Israel celebrated the return of the last 20 living hostages from Gaza. Former US President Donald Trump called it the "end of the war." But 19 of those 28 deceased hostages are still missing—including Tamir.

Nir said, “We feel like we've been betrayed. My brother was the first one to go to the border to save people. He gave his life for the country, but now the country isn't bringing him home.”

Tamir's mother still holds out hope that he might be alive. Nir says, “It feels like the whole family was kidnapped in Gaza.”

Nir Adar’s brother, Tamir, was killed while fighting Hamas gunmen at the kibbutz where he lived with his family.

Society in Israel is now divided—some are tired of the war and want peace, while others say the war isn't over until all the bodies are returned. The Jerusalem Post wrote, “Nobody should remove their yellow ribbons until every victim is returned.”

Nir says that if Hamas is breaking the deal, Israel must also fulfill its part. “Fuel, the Rafah border opening—everything should be stopped until Hamas fulfills its promise.”

Hamas says they don't know the location of some bodies or can't retrieve them. Nir calls this “another form of terrorism.”

Ruby Chen, whose son, Itay Chen (19), was killed by Hamas on October 7, says, “Every day feels like the same day repeating itself. We just wait for one phone call—that our son is back.”

This week, the remains of Daniel Perez (22) were returned and his funeral took place. Ruby says, “If Daniel and I were taken together, how do we know the location of one and not the other?”

Ruby, a US-Israeli dual citizen, had urged both US Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump to make full efforts to bring the hostages back. His wife told the US envoy, “You at least have a place where you can meet your son. We don't even have that yet.”