Hamas to return body of Israeli soldier held in Gaza since 2014; ending 11-year ordeal

Gaza: Hamas said on Sunday it would return the body of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 and held in Gaza for 11 years. The move is seen as a major development in the ongoing US-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas and could bring closure to one of Israel’s longest hostage sagas.

Goldin was killed on 1 August 2014, just two hours after a ceasefire took effect ending that year’s Gaza war. His remains are the last to be held in Gaza since before the most recent two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas began.

According to Hamas, Goldin’s body was discovered in a tunnel in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, on Saturday. The group announced it would hand over the remains on Sunday afternoon.

The return marks the end of an 11-year campaign by Goldin’s family, who, alongside relatives of another soldier killed in 2014, fought relentlessly for the retrieval of their sons’ remains.

Israeli media reports suggested Hamas had delayed the release to seek safe passage for over 100 militants trapped in Rafah by Israeli forces. However, Israeli officials have dismissed the notion of any “deal within a deal”.

“There are agreements whose implementation is guaranteed by the mediators, and we shouldn’t allow anyone to reopen them,” said Gila Gamliel, Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology.

Goldin’s remains are among five bodies of deceased hostages still in Gaza. As part of the truce deal, Hamas is expected to return all hostage remains to Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed that the handover was expected on Sunday afternoon, during a funeral for Staff Sgt Itay Chen — an American-Israeli soldier killed in the 2023 Hamas-led attack whose body was returned last week.

Since the ceasefire began last month, militants have handed over the remains of 23 hostages, while Israel has returned the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli body recovered. According to Ahmed Dheir, head of forensic medicine at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, 300 bodies have been returned so far, with 89 identified.

The current truce follows two years of intense conflict that began after Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on southern Israel, which left 1,200 dead and 251 kidnapped. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll has now reached 69,169.

Goldin’s fate was confirmed shortly after his death in 2014 when the Israeli military found evidence — including a blood-stained shirt and prayer fringes — in the tunnel where he was attacked. Earlier this year, his family marked 4,000 days since his body was taken.

Hamas’s announcement to hand over Hadar Goldin’s body marks a rare gesture in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and a potential confidence-building measure amid fragile peace efforts. Goldin’s case has long symbolised Israel’s determination to recover fallen soldiers and hostages from Gaza.

The handover comes amid a wider truce arrangement mediated by the US and regional partners, under which militants are returning hostage remains in exchange for the release of Palestinian bodies held by Israel. The delicate negotiations highlight the complexity of securing humanitarian and political progress after years of devastating conflict.

The development also brings emotional closure to the Goldin family, whose campaign for their son’s return became a national cause in Israel. His case underscores the lasting human cost of the Israel-Gaza wars, which continue to claim lives even amid ceasefires.
(With PTI inputs)