Israel confirms Hamas returned remains of Lt Hadar Goldin, killed in 2014, marking the 24th deceased hostage returned under current ceasefire terms
JERUSALEM: Israel confirmed on Sunday that remains received from Hamas were those of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, an officer killed during the 2014 Gaza war.
Goldin represents the 24th deceased hostage whose remains Hamas has returned since the ceasefire began on October 10.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office stated forensic experts had positively identified the remains.
“Today, we are united in having finally brought him back to his parents and his family to be laid to rest in Israel,” Netanyahu said in a video statement.
Judith Touati, a resident of Ramla, described the development as a relief for the family and Israeli society.
The return closes an 11-year chapter that has haunted both Goldin’s family and the nation.
Rachel Zinkin, a family friend, said it would provide closure for the family and Israeli society.
Nevertheless, Goldin’s father Simcha insisted Israel’s victory would only be complete when all hostages returned home.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, handed over the remains on Sunday after locating them in a Rafah tunnel.
Israeli media reported Israel permitted Hamas and Red Cross personnel to search Israeli-controlled areas in Rafah.
Goldin was 23 when killed on August 1, 2014, during an ambush just hours after a humanitarian ceasefire took effect.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian said terrorists emerged from a tunnel, shot Goldin, and dragged his body back inside.
Parts of his body were found soon after the incident, and his family held a funeral in August 2014.
Previous prisoner swap attempts to retrieve his remains had failed.
Israeli columnist Amos Harel noted the return carries great significance after the 11-year delay.
Displaced Gazan Samah Deeb expressed apprehension about the ceasefire’s next stages involving Hamas disarmament.
Mohammed Zamlout, another displaced Gazan, echoed desires for Israeli withdrawal and reconstruction.
Hamas initially held 20 living hostages and 28 deceased captives at the truce’s start.
It has since released all living hostages and returned 24 sets of remains under ceasefire terms.
Israel has released nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned hundreds of bodies killed in Gaza.
Four hostage remains remain in Gaza, three Israeli and one Thai, all seized during Hamas’s October 2023 attack.
That attack killed 1,221 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 69,176 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. – AFP
