Israel has confirmed the identity of the remains handed over by the militant Islamist group Hamas following a forensic investigation. It was a soldier who was killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014.
The Hamas terrorist group has handed over the body of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed 11 years ago, to Israel. Israel confirmed that the body was Goldin’s after a forensic examination. Hamas said it found Goldin’s body in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday and handed it over to the International Committee of the Red Cross today.
The 23-year-old soldier was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect that ended the war between Israel and Hamas that year. Since then, his body has been in the Gaza Strip. He is the person who has been held hostage in Gaza the longest.
Tremendous suffering for the family
At the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said not providing the body had caused great suffering to Goldin’s family. Now he can arrange a Jewish funeral for her.
Goldin’s family, along with the families of other soldiers whose bodies were kidnapped in 2014, are leading efforts to bring their sons home. Israel discovered the remains of a second soldier this year.
Hamas terrorists don’t want to give up
According to Israeli media reports, in exchange for handing over Goldin’s body, Hamas demanded safe conduct for around 200 Hamas terrorists it said were in a tunnel in Rafah, an Israeli-controlled Gaza Strip area. However, according to media reports, Chief of General Staff Ejal Zamir told the security cabinet on Thursday that there was no agreement on the issue. The terrorists must surrender “or we will eliminate them,” Zamir said.
However, a statement from the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said that surrendering Hamas members besieged in Rafah was not an option: “The enemy must know that the concept of surrender and surrender is not in the al-Qassam Brigades’ dictionary,” it said in a statement. Hamas demands that international mediators find a compromise and ensure the continuation of the ceasefire in Gaza.
Since the ceasefire took effect, the Rafah area in southern Gaza has been the site of at least two attacks on Israeli forces. Israel blamed Hamas, which denied involvement. The worst violence since the ceasefire began in Rafah. Three Israeli soldiers were killed, triggering Israeli retaliation that left dozens of Palestinians dead.
The agreement stipulates the return of all remains
A ceasefire agreement reached in October required Hamas to hand over the remains of 28 slain hostages. Goldin is also on that list. The remaining 27 people were people who were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 2023. The remaining four hostages are currently still in the Gaza Strip.
Recently freed Hamas hostages demanded the return of all the bodies of kidnapping victims remaining in the Gaza Strip at a demonstration in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. “It’s time to get everyone left in Gaza out,” said Rom Braslavski, one of 20 hostages freed by the Islamist terrorist organization as part of a ceasefire agreement. “Even if this takes 20 to 30 years, we will continue to fight for everyone.”
