Families of American October 7 victims call for US congressional inquiry into massacre

The families want the US Congress to examine how Hamas’s October 7 attack happened and why Israeli defenses and institutions failed beforehand. Their request focuses on American citizens who were killed, including Israeli-Americans with dual citizenship. They want answers and accountability, not only a memorial.

Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was killed, urged Congress to establish an investigative commission for the American victims. He argued that families have waited about a thousand days to understand both the attack and the conditions that allowed it. He also pointed to earlier US investigations into terrorist attacks abroad that killed Americans.

The proposal is not yet a formal congressional or Trump administration initiative. It remains a demand from bereaved families. They are also calling for legal action against people they believe financed or helped prepare the attack, including individuals they say remain free in Qatar and Turkey.

A congressional inquiry is an investigation conducted by the US Congress, usually through committees. It can examine records, hear testimony, question officials, and publish findings. Its purpose is to clarify responsibility, expose failures, and support possible legislative or policy changes. The article does not provide a formal definition, but families are seeking this kind of US investigation.

A state commission of inquiry is a separate investigative body created by a national government. In this case, families expected Israel to establish one to examine the failures surrounding October 7. Such a commission is not the same institution as a US congressional inquiry, even though both could investigate facts and accountability.

Neither investigation has been established in the form described here. The article says Israel has not created its commission, while Congress has not formally adopted the families’ proposal. The families therefore continue to press Washington for action.

At least 46 American citizens were murdered in the October 7 attacks, according to the article. The figure includes Israeli-Americans with dual citizenship. Their families were honored at a memorial ceremony held at the US State Department in Washington.

The number gives the families’ campaign a clear US dimension. They are not asking only for recognition of Israeli victims or for an Israeli investigation. They argue that Americans were among those killed, so the United States has a reason to examine what happened and seek accountability.

The article does not provide a further breakdown of the 46 victims. It identifies Itay Chen as one of them. Chen was a 19-year-old IDF soldier, and his remains were taken to Gaza before being returned to Israel in November 2025. His father, Ruby Chen, is leading the call for a congressional inquiry.

The families distinguish between describing what happened during October 7 and explaining why it was possible. A narrow account could document the attack itself. A broader investigation would examine warnings, decisions, preparedness, and other failures that may have allowed Hamas to carry out the massacre. The article presents this as a search for accountability.

Ruby Chen said families had waited about a thousand days to understand not just what happened, but how it happened. His demand reflects the experience of bereaved families who want answers about the circumstances surrounding their loved ones’ deaths. They also want responsibility examined beyond the immediate attackers.

That broader investigation has not been created. Israel has not established the state commission the families seek, and Congress has not formally adopted a US inquiry. Until either body acts, the families’ demand remains focused on obtaining facts, accountability, and possible legal action against those who helped prepare the attack.

The article reports that Israel has yet to establish a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7. It does not describe another completed Israeli investigation that answers the families’ concerns. Ruby Chen said the Israeli government had not seen fit to create the commission.

That missing commission is central to the families’ argument. Chen says families need to understand both the attack and the failures that enabled it. Because the victims included at least 46 American citizens, he believes the United States Congress could establish a separate investigative commission for the American victims.

The proposed US inquiry remains only a demand. Congress and the Trump administration have not formally adopted it. The families are therefore continuing to press for an independent examination, while also seeking legal action against people they believe financed or helped prepare Hamas’s attack.

The article identifies a general precedent: the United States has previously investigated terrorist attacks abroad when American citizens were killed. Ruby Chen referred to those earlier American investigations while arguing that the deaths of Americans on October 7 justify an independent congressional inquiry.

The mechanism of the precedent is the victims’ US citizenship. Chen argues that American deaths abroad can prompt the US government to examine what happened, even when the attack occurred outside American territory. He applies that reasoning to the at least 46 American citizens murdered on October 7, including dual Israeli-American citizens.

The article does not name the earlier attacks or explain the exact legal form of those investigations. It also makes clear that no new congressional inquiry has yet been approved. For now, the precedent strengthens the families’ appeal, but it does not guarantee that Congress will establish a commission.

A congressional investigation is mainly a fact-finding and oversight process. Congress can request documents, interview witnesses, hold public or private hearings, and publish findings. It may identify institutional failures and recommend changes to laws, funding, procedures, or government policy. The article frames the proposed inquiry as a way to understand how October 7 became possible.

For example, a commission could examine decisions and failures surrounding the attack, rather than only reconstructing the massacre. It could also give families an official record and identify people or institutions whose conduct requires further action. Its conclusions would inform lawmakers and the public, but would not automatically establish criminal guilt.

Prosecuting people for terrorism is different. Prosecutors must bring criminal charges and prove them through a court process. A congressional inquiry can refer evidence or recommend action, but it cannot itself impose a sentence. The article separately reports calls for legal action against alleged financiers and facilitators.