After an 11-year campaign by his family, forensic tests have confirmed that the remains returned by Hamas on Sunday belong to Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed during the 2014 Gaza conflict. The soldier’s return comes as a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas marks its one-month anniversary.
The Government of Israel expressed “deep condolences to the Goldin family and to all the families of the fallen hostages,” while the Israel Defense Forces informed the Goldin family that his body had been returned for burial. Hadar Goldin was 23 when he was killed by Hamas fighters just an hour after a truce took effect in 2014.
Since the current truce began on October 10, Hamas has released 20 living hostages and the remains of 24 others. Four bodies—three Israelis and one Thai national abducted during the October 7, 2023, attack—are still in Gaza. On the other side, Gaza’s health authorities say Israel has released around 300 Palestinian bodies, most still awaiting identification.
Despite the ceasefire holding overall, Israel has continued limited strikes and demolitions in Gaza. Gaza’s health ministry reports that since October 2023, Israeli operations have claimed over 69,000 lives in the territory.
On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani reaffirmed their support for the truce in a phone call. They also discussed consultation efforts at the United Nations Security Council on deploying international forces to Gaza and linked prospects for unifying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under a single Palestinian decision-making process. Both officials emphasized the importance of halting settlement activities in the West Bank, which they say undermine peace efforts.
As the region waits to see whether the ceasefire will hold, families on both sides continue to seek closure and hope while international actors push for a path to lasting peace.
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Israel identifies remains of soldier as fragile Gaza ceasefire holds
cgtn.com
