Remains of Soldier Hadar Goldin Return to Israel, After 11 Years in Gaza By The Media Line Staff Hadar Goldin’s remains were formally identified on Sunday, ending 4,118 days in which his family pushed for his return after he was killed in Rafah and taken into a Hamas tunnel during the 2014 cease-fire. Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine […]
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The Media Line: Remains of Soldier Hadar Goldin Return to Israel, After 11 Years in Gaza
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Remains of Soldier Hadar Goldin Return to Israel, After 11 Years in Gaza
By The Media Line Staff
Hadar Goldin’s remains were formally identified on Sunday, ending 4,118 days in which his family pushed for his return after he was killed in Rafah and taken into a Hamas tunnel during the 2014 cease-fire. Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine confirmed that the body transferred through the Red Cross is that of Lt. Goldin, bringing to a close one of the country’s longest unresolved cases from Operation Protective Edge.
According to Israeli authorities, the coffin was passed to IDF and Shin Bet personnel inside the Gaza Strip before being transported to the forensic institute in Tel Aviv. Specialists from the Israel police and the military rabbinate joined the identification process, after which officers delivered the news to the family.
The Prime Minister’s Office said Goldin “fell in battle and was abducted in 2014,” adding that the state “shares in the deep sorrow of the Goldin family and of all the families of fallen hostages.” The government said it remains committed to retrieving every soldier taken in past conflicts and demanded that Hamas fulfill its obligations in the current framework. “We will not compromise and will spare no effort until all hostages are brought home,” the statement said.
The confirmation of Goldin’s return prompted widespread reaction. His sister called him “a symbol of the determination for true victory,” reflecting the family’s years-long campaign to recover him. The decision also set off a series of internal IDF briefings, including a meeting between Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and relatives of the fallen officer. Zamir was accompanied by senior commanders, who reviewed the extensive attempts made since 2014 to account for Goldin and reaffirmed that the military intends to continue searching for all missing and fallen personnel.
Gadi Eisenkot, former IDF chief of staff, said the announcement marks a long-awaited moment for Israelis who followed the Goldin family’s ordeal. He said he “salutes Hadar,” calling his return after more than a decade an essential expression of Israel’s duty to its troops—while noting that the resolution took “far too many years.”