Jerusalem, 9 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — Hamas announced it would return the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin on Sunday afternoon, one day after the terror group told Al Jazeera it had found his body, which has been held in Gaza for 12 years.
Hamas initially demanded to negotiate the return of his body, saying Goldin was killed in 2014 and not during the October 7 attack. Israel insisted that delaying the return of the remains was a violation of the ceasefire.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir met with Simcha and Leah Goldin on Saturday night, fueling speculation.
“The chief of staff came out at the end of the Sabbath to update us on the tremendous efforts to secure the hostages, and we salute all who are on this national mission. We await the official confirmation that Hadar has returned to Israel. We do not give up on anyone in the country, ever. We ask you to keep calm. It’s not over until it’s final,” the family said in a statement afterward.
According to Al Jazeera, Goldin’s body was found in an area of Rafah in southern Gaza controlled by the IDF. Rafah lies behind the Yellow Line established by the current ceasefire framework. Some 200 Hamas gunmen are stranded in tunnels on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line. Israeli officials have reportedly indicated a willingness to let the Hamas men leave in exchange for the return of Goldin’s body. Israeli officials have not indicated whether any deal was made.
Goldin was killed and his body seized by Hamas in Rafah in 2014 during a U.S. and U.N.-brokered ceasefire on Aug. 1, 2014. A Hamas squad emerged from a tunnel and ambushed Goldin’s unit, killing him and two other soldiers.
Goldin was the last Israeli whose remains have been held in Gaza since before the October 7, 2023, attacks. He became closely associated with Sgt. Oron Shaul, an Israeli soldier who was killed in Shejaiya and whose body was also seized by Hamas in July 2014. Israeli forces recovered Shaul’s body in January 2025, hours before a ceasefire went into effect.
Although the body was held in Gaza, Goldin’s family held a funeral in their hometown of Kfar Saba two days after the ambush.
Goldin, who would have been 34 years old today, became engaged to Edna Sarusi shortly before the ambush. He is also survived by his parents, Simcha and Leah, and his twin brother, Tzur.
Two other Israeli hostages, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed, who were released in February, were taken hostage in 2014 and 2015 respectively after wandering across the border. Mengistu suffers from schizophrenia and stopped taking his medicine around the time he disappeared. Sayed was diagnosed with acute psychotic disorder and schizophrenia and suffered from auditory hallucinations.
Earlier on Saturday, Israel confirmed that a body returned by Hamas on Friday night was 61-year-old Lior Rudaeff of Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak.
Around 1,200 people were killed and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The bodies of four Israelis and one foreign national are still held in Gaza.
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