Israel receives remains of deceased hostage

Israel has retrieved the remains of a hostage held in the Gaza Strip, which the Palestinian militant group Hamas says belongs to an Israeli soldier killed in the region more than a decade ago.

In the statement made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, it was stated that the remains were handed over to Israeli forces in Palestinian territory by the Red Cross.

No official identification has yet been established.

The armed wing of Hamas announced that it would hand over the body of military officer Hadar Goldin, who was killed in an ambush in the Gaza Strip during the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

Hamas said it found Goldin’s body in a tunnel in the southernmost city of Rafah in the region on Saturday.

🟡 The deceased hostage’s coffin, accompanied by IDF troops, recently crossed the border into the State of Israel and headed towards the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out.IDF representatives…— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) November 9, 2025

Goldin was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after the ceasefire that ended that year’s war between Israel and Hamas went into effect.

The return of Goldin’s remains, which has become a symbol of Israel, will be an important development in terms of the US-brokered ceasefire.

It would also bring closure to a painful 11-year saga for his family.

Dozens of people gathered at intersections where the police convoy carrying the remains traveled from southern Israel to Tel Aviv, waving Israeli flags and paying their last respects to the soldier believed to have been martyred.

At the start of his weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said keeping the body for so long “caused great suffering to his family, and they can now give him a Jewish burial.”

Since a ceasefire took effect on October 10 in the war, which has been ongoing since 2023, Hamas has released 20 living hostages as part of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

In response, Israel released approximately 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees.

The agreement also included the handover of the remains of 28 deceased hostages held in the strip in exchange for the remains of 360 militants held by Israel.

According to Gaza health officials, the bodies of 23 hostages had been handed over to Israel before Sunday, and Israel had transferred the remains of 300 Palestinians, although not all of them had yet been identified.

Palestinian militants took 251 people, living and dead, hostage in October 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.

Before this, four more hostages were being held in the region.

with AP