Remains of Israeli soldier held by Hamas since 2014 transferred to Israel
Jerusalem: Israeli forces have received from the Red Cross in Gaza the remains of a hostage believed to be those of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, whose body has been held by Hamas for the past 11 years, the Israeli prime minister’s office said.
The office said the remains were being transferred to Israel’s national forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification, Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Hamas announced it was handing over the body of Goldin, an army officer killed during Israel’s 2014 Gaza war. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later confirmed the remains were believed to be Goldin’s.
At the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said that over the 11 years Hamas held Goldin’s body, “successive Israeli governments made great efforts to bring him back, amid the deep anguish of his family, who will now finally be able to lay him to rest in Israel.”
According to al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, Goldin’s body was found on Saturday in a tunnel in the Yebna refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza. This is the first reported recovery operation in Rafah since a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10. The city remains largely under Israeli control, and residents have not been allowed to return.
In a separate statement, the Brigades said Israel is “fully responsible for the clashes with our fighters in Rafah, who are defending themselves within an area under Israeli control.” They called on mediators to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire, noting that recovering the remaining bodies requires additional personnel and technical equipment.
Before the delivery of the remains on Sunday, Hamas has returned the remains of 23 hostages to Israel. If the latest remains are confirmed as Goldin’s, four bodies would still be in Gaza — three Israelis and one Thai national abducted during the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023.
Gaza health authorities said Israel has released the bodies of about 300 Palestinians, most still unidentified. Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued strikes and demolitions in Gaza, killing hundreds. The ministry put the overall death toll from Israeli strikes since October 2023 at 69,169.