Hamas on Sunday handed over the remains of an Israeli soldier who was killed during fighting in the Gaza Strip more than a decade ago and the body held inside the Palestinian enclave ever since.
Forensic testing confirmed that the remains were those of 23-year-old Lt. Hadar Goldin. He was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, shortly after a ceasefire that ended the war that year between Hamas and Israel, also known as Operation Protective Edge.
Israel Defense Forces officials said he was killed while leading his reconnaissance soldiers in an operation to decommission a tunnel being used by Hamas fighters.
After ambushing the patrol, the militants returned to Rafah in the Gaza Strip, bringing the body of Lt. Goldin with them.
“This is a moment of deep pain but also of great comfort and closure,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said. “The Goldin family will now have a grave at which to mourn and weep.”
Lt. Goldin’s family has campaigned for the last 11 years to have his body returned to Israel.
They routinely criticized the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of failing to apply sufficient force on Hamas to hand over their son’s remains.
“We brought Lt. Hadar Goldin, our son, a fighter, to be buried in Israel. We achieved this because our soldiers fought to bring warriors back from the battlefield,” his father, Simcha Goldin, said in a statement released by the family.
“The IDF brought Hadar back to his homeland, no one else. We don’t abandon soldiers on the battlefield because this is a value, and we don’t compromise on values,” the elder Mr. Goldin said.
Mr. Goldin said victory in Gaza will be elusive until the remains of the five hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip are returned to Israel.
Palestinian militants have released the remains of 23 hostages held over the past two years since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza began on Oct. 10.
“What this war has proven is that when we fight for our soldiers, we succeed,” he said. “Victory means bringing home the hostages and bringing home our soldiers to Israel.”
Hamas said it has not been able to reach some of the remains because they are buried under rubble from Israeli attacks during the two-year war in the Gaza Strip.
Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, has met with Lt. Goldin’s parents several times since Hamas abducted their son. She said they led a “just and relentless struggle” for his return.
“Each time I met Lea Goldin, I understood what true strength is – an extraordinary woman who carried on her shoulders the struggle of an entire nation: a struggle for morality, responsibility, and the promise a state makes to its children,” Ms. Haskel said in a statement.
