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The body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, killed and abducted by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza War, was returned to Israel on Sunday after more than 11 years in captivity, the military announced, confirming forensic identification.
Israel Defense Forces representatives informed Goldin’s family after the body was handed over by the Red Cross to the military and taken to the Abu Kabir institute in Tel Aviv, where it was identified, marking the end of one of Israel’s longest hostage ordeals and a more than decade-long campaign by his relatives to bring him home.
Hamas said on Saturday that it recovered the body from a tunnel in Rafah, an area currently under IDF control. The Israeli military in the past year had searched the area for Goldin’s body, although it did not have intelligence on the exact location.
Images released by the military showed reservists, who had served in Goldin’s company in the Givati Brigade at the time of his death in 2014, escorting his coffin out of the Strip.
A senior Turkish official told Channel 12 news that Turkey played a key role in securing the return of Goldin’s remains to Israel, adding that Ankara was also working to evacuate Hamas operatives trapped in southern Gaza, in the same area where the body was held.
“We are pleased to confirm that Turkey has successfully facilitated the return of Hadar Goldin’s remains to Israel after 11 years. This achievement is the outcome of intensive efforts and reflects Hamas’s clear commitment to the ceasefire,” the official said.
The official added that the terror group is working to ensure the safe passage of 100 to 200 Hamas operatives hiding in tunnels in IDF-held areas of southern Gaza, whose fate remains under negotiation.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian source told Israel’s Kan broadcaster that Turkey, with US support, is leading efforts to pressure Hamas into returning the bodies of the four remaining hostages in Gaza. Mediators reportedly acknowledge that some of the returns are beyond Hamas’s control.
A son finally returns home
At 9:05 a.m. on August 1, 2014, just over an hour after the start of a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire during the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas gunmen emerged from a tunnel in the southeastern part of Rafah and attacked troops of the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, killing three soldiers, including Goldin — whose body was dragged into the tunnel by the operatives.
Upon his return, Goldin’s sister Ayelet wrote on social media, “How do I feel? I don’t know yet. But I do know that what strengthens me is that we remained true to our truth — to our Israeli values. My Hadar — you are my inspiration. And you live in my heart always, and I love you very much. And finally, you’ve come home.”
Outside the family’s home in Kfar Saba, Goldin’s parents, Leah and Simcha, stood to offer thanks for the release of their son’s body.
In implicit criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the political leadership, Simcha Goldin said he credited “the IDF, and no one else” for bringing the body of his son back home to Israel for burial.
The Goldin family accused Netanyahu over the years of failing to mount sufficient pressure on Hamas to return their son’s remains, and accused the premier of waging a public campaign to turn them into “public enemies.”
Leah Goldin said that her son’s body could have been brought home years earlier, during the COVID pandemic, along with the body of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul, who was also killed and seized in a separate incident during the 2014 war, and two Israeli civilians — Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who entered Gaza separately in 2014 and 2015 and were taken captive alive — by conditioning vaccine deliveries to Gaza on their release. “But the decision-makers here didn’t do it,” she said.
In February this year, Mengistu and al-Sayed were released, along with hostages held since October 7, 2023, as part of a ceasefire arrangement. IDF troops recovered Shaul’s body during a clandestine operation in January.
Leah recalled standing in the same place in August 2014, when the family called on the government and the IDF not to leave their son’s body behind in Gaza.
She said it appeared clear to them at the time that the government would never leave a soldier behind. Instead, they had to fight to bring him home. “It took us 11 years to get him back, with the help of the IDF and the security services,” she said.
The Goldins said their son would remain a symbol of idealism and of what can be achieved through moral conviction, saying, “We brought back the symbol, and now we have to protect it and fight for it.”
Israel hails fallen hero
News of the recovery quickly drew responses from Israeli leadership.
Contrary to Leah Goldin’s implied accusations, Netanyahu appeared to take credit for the recovery, saying in a video statement that he had “always had two pictures in [his] office: of Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin, of blessed memory.”
Holding a photo of Goldin, Netanyahu said he had “vowed that we would bring them home” and “never gave up on that for a moment.”
“We took many actions, but naturally, once we entered Gaza, we were able to do much more,” he continued. “And with God’s help, thanks to the heroism of IDF soldiers and the decisions we made, they came home. Today, Hadar Goldin is coming home.”
The late Hadar Goldin returned home. pic.twitter.com/al4PRADYBP
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) November 9, 2025
President Isaac Herzog called Goldin a “hero of Israel,” saying his photo was also on his desk over the years and praising his family’s “tireless and persistent struggle” to bring his body home for burial.
“The nation of Israel embraces them today with deep love and endless appreciation,” he said.
Officials across the political spectrum hailed the news. Defense Minister Israel Katz called it “a moment of deep pain but also of great comfort and closure.”
“The people of Israel bow their heads and embrace the Goldin family with love in this deeply emotional moment,” said National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. “Hadar gave his life for the people of Israel, and in his life and death, he embodied supreme heroism.”
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said his heart went out to the family, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett said Goldin “became a moral symbol that highlights a fundamental value in the people of Israel — we don’t leave anyone behind.”
Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman promised that “we will do everything so that all our sons return home,” while the Democrats’ chief Yair Golan said that, as a senior IDF officer at the time of Goldin’s kidnapping, “we swore not to let up until his body was returned.”
Posting in English on X, Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel called Goldin “a brave warrior” who “became a national symbol of devotion, courage, and faith.”
The Prime Minister’s Office said Israel “shares in the deep sorrow of the Goldin family and of all the families of the fallen hostages,” and vowed to continue efforts to recover the bodies of four deceased hostages still held in Gaza — Meny Godard, Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, Dror Or, and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said Goldin’s return “provides some measure of comfort to a family that has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over 11 years,” adding, “We will not rest until the last hostage is brought home.”
Goldin’s life and legacy
Goldin, 23 at the time of his death, was born in Eshhar and raised in Kfar Saba. The son of Leah and Simcha, he was the twin brother of Tzur and the younger brother of Ayelet and Chemi. He and Tzur were reportedly inseparable — they painted and played music together, served as counselors in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and studied at the Bnei David pre-military academy in the West Bank settlement of Eli.
Goldin excelled throughout his IDF service, completing the officers’ course with distinction before returning to the Givati Brigade’s reconnaissance unit as a platoon commander. He was known by those around him as compassionate, modest, and deeply devoted to his soldiers and his country.
Just months before he was killed, Goldin proposed to his fiancée, Edna Sarussi, and the couple had already begun planning their wedding.
In the years since Goldin’s death, educational initiatives have been established in his memory — among them a pre-military academy that brings together religious and secular students, new immigrants, and at-risk youth — aimed at carrying forward the values of unity, leadership, and moral integrity that defined him.
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