Remains of Israeli soldier held by Hamas since 2014 transferred to Israel

After more than a decade of anguish, Israel is one step closer to closure. The remains of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin — held by Hamas since the 2014 Gaza war — have been handed over to Israeli forces by the Red Cross in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed on Sunday.

The remains, believed to be Goldin’s, were transferred to Israel’s national forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification. Hamas had earlier announced that it was returning the body of the fallen officer, found in a tunnel beneath the Yebna refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza.

For 11 years, Goldin’s name has lingered in Israel’s collective memory — a symbol of loss, longing, and unfinished mourning. “Successive Israeli governments made great efforts to bring him back,” Netanyahu said at his weekly cabinet meeting. “Now, amid the deep anguish of his family, they will finally be able to lay him to rest in Israel.”

1er kaddish pour Hadar Goldin
Puissante émotion
🙏🕯🇮🇱#hadargoldin https://t.co/LOUufJz3Oq

— salomee b 🎗 (@seveb8) November 9, 2025

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The recovery marks the first such operation in Rafah since a ceasefire took effect on 10 October. The city, still under tight Israeli control, remains off-limits to returning residents. According to Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, the soldier’s body was discovered on Saturday during operations in the tunnel network beneath Rafah.

In a statement, the Brigades said Israeli forces “bear full responsibility” for the clashes in the area, claiming their fighters were acting in self-defence. They urged mediators to uphold the fragile ceasefire, warning that retrieving the remaining bodies would require additional time and technical support.

With Goldin’s remains now believed to be in Israeli custody, Hamas has returned the remains of 24 hostages in total since the war’s resumption — leaving four more bodies still inside Gaza: three Israelis and one Thai national abducted during the Hamas-led assault of 7 October 2023.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s health authorities reported that Israel has handed back the bodies of about 300 Palestinians, most yet to be identified. Despite the declared ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes and demolitions have continued across the enclave, deepening the devastation. The Health Ministry in Gaza estimates that 69,169 people have been killed since October 2023.

For Goldin’s family, an agonising chapter nears its end. For Gaza and Israel, however, the long night of war still lingers — heavy with grief, and far from peace.

With IANS inputs