Hamas returns Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin’s remains after more than 4,000 days

Hamas handed over the body believed to be that of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in 2014, and his body was kept as a bargaining chip for more than 4,000 days, Israel said on Sunday.

Goldin was serving as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Givati ​​Brigade when he was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after the 72-hour ceasefire that ended the war between Israel and Hamas went into effect.

“We will receive the body of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin this afternoon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a government meeting held early Sunday. “We have a legacy of bringing back our soldiers who were martyred in war from the founding of the state to the War of Independence, and we are doing this.”

Hamas announced that it found Goldin’s body in a tunnel in the southernmost city of Rafah in Gaza on Saturday and that it would hand over the body on Sunday afternoon local time.

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Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that Israel had received a coffin from the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip. His office said the remains still need to go through a formal identification process by the Department of Health’s National Forensic Center, after which the family will be notified.

Goldin’s body was kept in Gaza for 4,118 days. As part of the US-brokered peace deal, the Hamas terror group is expected to return the remains of all hostages, most of which were taken during the October 7, 2023 attacks.

Freed Israeli hostage Matan Angrest holds a photo of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014, during a rally for the return of deceased hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Goldin’s family led an 11-year campaign to bring their son home for funeral.

AS IDENTIFICATION STARTED, ISRAEL TAKEN 2 MORE HOSTAGE COFFINS FROM GAZA WITH THE RED CROSS OPERATION

“Those who abandon the dead will abandon the wounded and the living,” Goldin’s family repeated over the years.

Israel initially believed that Goldin had been kidnapped and held captive, but later ruled that the soldier had been killed after finding evidence, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer tassels, in the tunnel where Goldin was taken.

Hamas has released the remains of 23 hostages since the ceasefire began last month. Israel releases the remains of 15 Palestinians in exchange for every Israeli hostage returned.

The war started with the attack on southern Israel led by Hamas on October 7. In the attack, 251 people, mostly civilians, were kidnapped and 1,200 people were killed in Israel.

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Earlier this year, the Israeli army recovered the body of another soldier killed in the 2014 war.

Fox News’ Yonat Friling and the Associated Press contributed to this report.