On November 9, 2025, a somber chapter in Israel’s recent history took a decisive turn as the remains of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in 2014, were transferred from Gaza to Israeli authorities. The return, facilitated by the Red Cross, marked the end of an 11-year ordeal for Goldin’s family, whose tireless campaign to bring him home has become emblematic of the broader struggle to recover hostages and fallen soldiers from the conflict with Hamas.
According to The Associated Press, the Israeli government received the remains of a hostage in Gaza, which Hamas claimed belonged to Lt. Hadar Goldin. Israeli officials, while expressing confidence that the remains were Goldin’s, emphasized that formal forensic identification would be completed by the Health Ministry’s National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv before notifying the family. The transfer took place after Hamas announced it had found Goldin’s body in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza, on November 8, 2025. The Red Cross then transported the remains to Israeli military custody within Gaza before they were moved to Tel Aviv for analysis.
Goldin’s story is deeply intertwined with the tumultuous history of the Israel-Hamas conflict. He was serving as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces’ Givati Brigade when he was killed on August 1, 2014—just two hours after a 72-hour ceasefire took effect, ending that year’s war between Israel and Hamas. Evidence found in the tunnel where his body was taken, including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes, led the Israeli military to conclude that Goldin had been killed, even as initial hopes persisted that he might be alive.
For 4,118 days—over 11 years—his body remained in Gaza, held by Hamas as a bargaining chip. As reported by Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the nation on Sunday, stating, “We have a legacy from the founding of the state – from the War of Independence to the War of Redemption – to return our soldiers who fell in battle, and we are doing that.” Netanyahu also acknowledged the “great agony of his family, which will now be able to give him a Jewish burial.”
The return of Goldin’s remains is seen as a significant development in the ongoing U.S.-brokered truce between Israel and Hamas, a truce that has seen the slow and painful exchange of hostages and remains amid continued skirmishes in Gaza. Since the ceasefire began on October 10, 2025, militants have released the remains of 23 hostages. In exchange, Israel has released the remains of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli hostage returned, according to AP and Fox News. Dr. Ahmed Dheir, director of forensic medicine at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, noted that 300 Palestinian remains have now been returned, with 89 identified.
The war itself was reignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people—mostly civilians—were killed, and 251 were kidnapped. The conflict has since taken a staggering toll on both sides. Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals whose records are considered generally reliable by independent experts, reported on Saturday that 69,176 Palestinians have been killed since the war’s onset.
Goldin’s family’s anguish has been both personal and public. For over a decade, they spearheaded a relentless campaign to bring their son home for burial, often invoking the ethical and religious imperatives that underpin Israel’s commitment to its soldiers. “Those who abandon the dead will abandon the wounded and the living,” the family repeated over the years, as quoted by Fox News. Leah Goldin, Hadar’s mother, told The Associated Press earlier this year, “Hadar is a soldier who went to combat and they abandoned him, and they destroyed his humanitarian rights and ours as well.” She described the long wait as a “knife constantly making new cuts,” emphasizing the profound pain of uncertainty and the importance of returning her son’s body as part of the sacrosanct pact Israel makes with its citizens, who are required by law to serve in the military.
Goldin’s family was not alone in their struggle. Alongside the family of Oron Shaul, another soldier whose body was taken in 2014 and recovered earlier this year, they became symbols of both hope and heartache. Their advocacy, at times, left them feeling isolated, especially after the October 7 attacks, when public attention shifted to families of the newly abducted. “We were a symbol of failure,” Leah Goldin recalled. “They told us, ‘we aren’t like you, our kids will come back soon.’” Still, the Goldins persisted, supporting other families and pressing for the return of all hostages and remains.
The path to this moment was fraught with political and military complexities. Israeli media, citing anonymous officials, previously reported that Hamas delayed the release of Goldin’s body in hopes of negotiating safe passage for more than 100 militants trapped in Rafah. However, Gila Gamliel, Israel’s minister of innovation, science, and technology, made it clear on Army Radio that Israel was not negotiating a separate deal for these fighters. “There are agreements whose implementation is guaranteed by the mediators, and we shouldn’t allow anyone to come now and play (games) and to reopen the agreement,” she said, as reported by AP. Hamas, for its part, made no public comment on the alleged exchange, though they acknowledged ongoing clashes in the so-called yellow zone controlled by Israeli forces.
As Goldin’s remains were transported through Israel, dozens gathered along intersections, waving flags and paying their final respects. The scene was a poignant reminder of the collective grief and resilience that has shaped Israeli society through decades of conflict. For Goldin’s family, the return offers a measure of closure—an opportunity to hold a proper Jewish burial and honor the memory of a son, a soldier, and, as his mother described, a talented artist who had just become engaged at the time of his death.
Yet, even as this chapter closes, the broader struggle continues. If the remains are confirmed as Goldin’s, four deceased hostages will still remain in Gaza. Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s commitment to bringing all its fallen home, referencing other Israelis, such as Eli Cohen, the spy hanged in Damascus in 1965, whose remains are still held across enemy lines.
The return of Hadar Goldin’s remains is a powerful moment—one that brings solace to a grieving family, honors a national promise, and underscores the enduring human cost of conflict. As Israel and Hamas navigate an uneasy truce, the hope persists that more families, on both sides, will find the closure they so desperately seek.
