Israel has received a body that Hamas claims is that of Lt. Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed more than a decade ago in Gaza, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.
Goldin was killed in the final days of the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas and his body has been held in Gaza since then.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier that tests to verify his identity will begin “immediately” after his body is handed over.
As with previous hostage returns, Hamas handed what it said was Goldin’s body to the the International Red Cross, which then transferred it to the Israeli military. The handover was part of the ceasefire agreement that brought the worst of the fighting in Gaza to an end a month ago.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Goldin’s family said they are “waiting for Hadar to be returned to us.” They said the Israeli military chief had updated them on the on the “tremendous effort” to return Goldin.
Goldin’s family has spent years campaigning for his return, citing Israel’s commitment to the principle of leaving no one behind in conflict. The international campaign for the return of hostages taken during the Hamas-led terror attack on October 7, 2023 put a new spotlight on their fight.
Goldin was one of the last five hostages whose body remained in Gaza. Under the first phase of the US-brokered ceasefire, Hamas was required to return all hostages, including the bodies of those who had been killed.
Israeli intelligence has previously assessed that Hamas may not be able to find and return all the remaining dead hostages in Gaza.
Goldin was killed on August 1, 2014, just days before Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza. He was 23 years old, one of 68 Israeli soldiers killed during the month-and-a-half-long war.
More than 2,200 Palestinians were killed in that conflict, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
If Goldin’s identity is confirmed, his return would bring the total number of deceased hostages still in Gaza to four.
Three are Israelis who were killed on October 7, 2023, and whose bodies were taken to Gaza. The fourth is a Thai citizen who was kidnapped during the attack. The Thai government said in May 2024 that he was presumed dead.
