The Israeli army confirmed that the body handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross on Sunday (9/11) is that of hostage Hadar Goldin, an officer who was killed in Gaza more than ten years ago. His body, which had been in the possession of the Islamic Group since then, was found on Saturday (11/8) “in a tunnel.”
Hamas returned the remains of a hostage to the Red Cross on Sunday. On Saturday, rumors began to spread with the publication of a video showing armed men, accompanied by members of the Red Cross, entering a tunnel in Gaza to recover a body said to be that of Goldin.
Several Israeli media outlets reported after that that Israel allowed members of Hamas and the Red Cross to conduct inspections in a tunnel in a part of the city of Rafah, which is currently controlled by the Israeli army, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
IDF Chief Eyal Zamir reportedly met this evening with the lieutenant’s family to inform them of the situation and commit to returning his remains to Israel.
“Until it’s done, it’s not over yet,” the family representative declared.
Read also
-
world
Hamas finds the body of an Israeli soldier and promises to hand it over
-
world
Israel returns 45 bodies to Gaza after handing over Hamas hostages
-
world
Hamas hands over the bodies of three more Israeli hostages to the Red Cross
-
world
Hamas requests help in recovering the bodies of Israeli hostages
On Sunday, the military wing of Hamas announced the return of the body. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement published on the Telegram application: “The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of Officer Hadar Goldin, who was found yesterday in a tunnel in the city of Rafah at two o’clock in the afternoon (12 noon GMT) Gaza time.”
In the late afternoon, Israel confirmed that the body returned on Sunday had been identified as that of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin.
According to the Israeli army, Hadar Goldin was killed at the age of 23, on August 1, 2014, during a reconnaissance mission with his unit in a tunnel near Rafah, during a previous war in the Gaza Strip.
Last January, the Israeli army returned the remains of soldier Oron Shaul, 21 years old at the time of his death on July 20, 2014, when the military vehicle he was traveling in exploded during a military operation in Gaza City, from Gaza to Israel, where he was buried.
Years of negotiations
The soldier’s repatriation, eleven years after his death, ends more than a decade of uncertainty for the soldier’s family and has great symbolic significance for Israel.
For many years, the remains of soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul were at the heart of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas, in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
With the handover of Hadar Goldin’s body, four dead hostages remain held in Gaza, and Hamas has not yet returned their bodies to Israel, under the ceasefire agreement that entered into force on October 10.
About The Author
