Jerusalem, 11 November, 2025 (TPS-IL) — After more than 11 years, the body of Israeli soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was laid to rest on Tuesday morning at Kfar Saba military cemetery, closing a painful chapter that began with his death and abduction in 2014. Goldin’s remains were returned to Israel only two days prior, following a prolonged struggle by his family and the military to bring him home.
Thousands of mourners joined the funeral procession, which departed under police escort from the Shura military base. To accommodate the large turnout, the cemetery was declared a “sterile zone” for the ceremony, with only family members and military officials allowed inside. Large screens and speakers relayed the eulogies to the crowd gathered outside. Throughout Kfar Saba, Israeli flags and signs marked the streets, one of which read, “Until the first hostage,” a reference to the Goldin family’s long campaign for soldiers held captive in Gaza.
Hadar’s father, Simcha Goldin, spoke through tears, urging Israelis to draw strength from his son’s example. He reminded mourners to “remember Hadar’s smile” and to live by his values, saying the nation must continue his path and “gain a little more Hadar”–a play on his son’s name, which in Hebrew means splendor.
He shared that Hadar kept a personal prayer book, reciting each day a line that read, “Grant our hearts to see the virtues of our friends and not their flaws.” Goldin asked Israelis to take those words to heart and to live by them.
Turning to the long years of anguish since his son’s abduction, Goldin lamented that “for 11 years we left him in the enemy’s hands,” and warned that Israeli society had grown too attached to “money, honor, and power.”
Israeli military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir eulogized Goldin as a soldier whose courage and leadership exemplified the spirit of the Israel Defense Forces. “With bowed heads, we accompany Hadar on his last journey,” Zamir said. “In this moment that gathers into it thousands of days of anticipation and abysmal sadness, an entire nation becomes a procession—Hadar. Dear family, you have become a compass and a conscience for the entire people of Israel, a compass that we in the IDF will continue and carry forever.”
He praised Goldin’s leadership on the battlefield, recalling his final moments. “A commander who was for his soldiers until the last moment. In Hadar’s last picture, his gaze says ‘courage and humility.’ An officer whose feet were firmly planted in the soil of the land he loved so much, but whose gaze was lifted to horizons of vision. Hadar fell in battle in Rafah along with his commander, Major Baniya Sarel, and his subordinate, Sergeant Major Liel Gideoni, at the end of Operation Protective Edge. After the barrage of fire, Goldin disappeared into a tunnel. Those last moments embodied the spirit of Sayeret Givati, the spirit of the IDF in the deepest sense.”
Zamir concluded by highlighting the determination that brought Goldin home. “Like the family, the IDF did not give up for a moment—Hadar’s return is thanks to the IDF’s operational strength and its achievements. Today we understand even more that this embodies a promise of a state to its citizens. You gave above and beyond, dear Hadar, everything you could give. Today, Shabbat to the land you fought for, but we will continue to return to every place where a promise remains unfulfilled. We will continue to act until the last of our sons returns home.”
Speaking outside the family home on Monday evening, Goldin’s siblings — Hemi, Tzur, and Ayelet — expressed gratitude to the public. “We want to stop and say thank you,” Ayelet Goldin said. “Without the people of Israel, Hadar would not be home. Even in this emotional moment, we remember that four hostages are still held in Gaza. Bringing Hadar back after 11 years proves it’s possible to bring them all home. We will bring everyone back. These are the values of the people of Israel.”
She continued, “We want to thank every person who held a sign, who prayed, the Hostage Families Forum, and all of Israeli society. Because of you, Hadar is home. We’ve felt the nation’s embrace over the past day. This society will bring everyone home, and with God’s help, we will heal. We invite the public to accompany Hadar on his final journey.”
Goldin was killed and his body taken by Hamas on August 1, 2014 when Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel in Rafah and ambushed his patrol. The attack took place during a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire. Two other soldiers were killed in the attack.
He was the last Israeli whose remains had been held in Gaza since before the October 7, 2023, attacks. Goldin was closely associated with Sgt. Oron Shaul, 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.
Goldin is survived by his parents, Simcha and Leah, his sibling.
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