Israel
Body of fallen soldier Hadar Goldin returned to Israel after 11 years
Goldin was killed in Gaza in 2014 and his body has been held hostage by Hamas ever since
November 10, 2025 10:30
Goldin was killed in Gaza in 2014 and his body has been held hostage by Hamas ever since
November 10, 2025 10:30The body of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin has finally been returned to Israel, 11 years after he was killed.
Hadar fell in Gaza in 2014 while taking part in Operation Protective Edge, but has been counted among the hostages since the October 7 attacks.
His body was transferred to the IDF via the Red Cross yesterday, bringing relief to his family after their decade-long campaign for his release.
His coffin was escorted by soldiers who had served alongside him in the Givati Brigade at the time of his death.
Hamas claimed that his body had been recovered from a tunnel near Rafah in one of the areas currently under IDF control.
The military has allowed Hamas search teams across the ceasefire line to expedite the recovery of the remaining hostages.
Per The Times, though, there remains a group of around 150 “renegade” Hamas fighters still in tunnels within IDF-controlled zones.
The terrorists are reportedly disobeying direct orders from their superiors to withdraw as stipulated under the ceasefire agreement.
It is this group that is believed to be responsible for fatal attacks on three IDF units in recent weeks, the latter of which prompted retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza and jeopardised the truce.
There have long been reports of tension between Hamas’ military leadership in Gaza and its political wing in Doha, with the former understood to be far less willing to make peace with Israel.
Responding to the news of his release, Hadar's sister, Ayelet, wrote: "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."
His parents also held a press conference outside their home in which they shared their relief.
"We went around the world to do the impossible, to demonstrate that we have shared values, no matter the religion or race, that all have the responsibility to bring home a soldier’s body from the battlefield for proper burial," said his mother, Leah.
"These are the values we fought for. We went through so many disappointments."
Israeli President Herzog, meanwhile, hailed Hadar as a "hero of Israel", while Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "With God’s help, thanks to the heroism of IDF soldiers and the decisions we made, [hostages] came home. Today, Hadar Goldin is coming home."
His return brings the number of hostages still held by Hamas down to just five.
They have been named as Meny Godard, Ran Gvili, Dror Or, Sudthisak Rinthalak and Lior Rudaeff.
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