Jerusalem: The remains of Israeli army officer Hadar Goldin, held by Hamas since the 2014 Gaza war, have been handed over to Israeli forces via the Red Cross, the prime minister’s office confirmed on Sunday.
The remains are now being examined at Israel’s national forensic institute in Tel Aviv for formal identification, according to Xinhua news agency.
Goldin, an Israeli army officer killed during the 2014 Gaza war, had been held by Hamas for over a decade. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the transfer, stating that successive Israeli governments had worked tirelessly to recover Goldin’s body. “Amid the deep anguish of his family, who will now finally be able to lay him to rest in Israel,” he said at the weekly cabinet meeting.
Hamas’s armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said Goldin’s body was discovered on Saturday in a tunnel beneath the Yebna refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza. This marks the first recovery operation in Rafah since the ceasefire began on October 10. The city remains under Israeli control, with residents still barred from returning.
In a separate statement, the Brigades accused Israel of provoking clashes in Rafah and urged mediators to uphold the ceasefire. They noted that further recovery efforts require specialised personnel and equipment.
Prior to Sunday’s handover, Hamas had returned the remains of 23 hostages. If confirmed as Goldin’s, four bodies remain in Gaza, three Israeli nationals and one Thai citizen abducted during the October 7, 2023 attacks.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s health ministry reported that Israel has released the bodies of around 300 Palestinians, many still unidentified. Despite the ceasefire, Israeli strikes and demolitions continue, with the ministry placing the death toll since October 2023 at 69,169.
(Inputs from IANS)