A route bypassing Netanyahu? The families demand an American investigative committee

Three years after the October 7 massacre, families of American citizen victims are asking Congress to establish an independent investigative committee, in light of the absence of a state commission of inquiry in Israel. The demand was raised at a memorial ceremony at the State Department in Washington, attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The families seek answers about the chain of failures that enabled the disaster.

Three years after the October 7 massacre, families of American citizen victims are asking Congress to establish an independent investigative committee, in light of the Israeli government's avoidance of forming a state commission of inquiry. The demand was raised at a memorial ceremony held at the State Department in Washington, attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who lost his brother in the 9/11 attacks. Ruby Chen, father of soldier Itai Chen who fell on October 7 and whose body was returned in November 2025, said the families have been waiting a thousand days to understand not only what happened, but how it happened. Chen criticized that people he says bear responsibility continue to move freely in Qatar and Turkey. Another participant, Avi On, a relative of Carmela Dan and her granddaughter Noya Dan who were murdered in Nir Oz, criticized the lack of national recognition in Israel and the fact that there was no memorial siren on the anniversary. The families also seek a memorial site in Washington.