In brief
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was killed in 2014 during a Hamas ambush, has been received from Gaza for identification. This development follows an earlier agreement that saw the handover of hostages by Hamas. If confirmed, this body would be the last of the deceased hostages held in Gaza, completing a significant part of the ceasefire deal.
Israel has received the body of a hostage after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was expecting the remains of a soldier killed in 2014 to be returned. The Israeli military confirmed the body was being taken for formal identification.Earlier, Netanyahu announced Israel was due to receive the body of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in an ambush by Hamas during a previous conflict in 2014, with his body held in Gaza since then. Hamas's armed wing announced that it would also hand over Goldin's remains.If the body is confirmed to be Lt. Goldin's, Hamas will have returned all 20 living hostages and 24 out of 28 deceased hostages as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.Netanyahu expressed that this would allow Lt. Goldin’s family to give him a proper Jewish burial and re-emphasized Israel's commitment to recovering all deceased hostages. He noted that to date, 250 bodies have been returned to Israel."An entire nation is waiting for Hadar to be returned to us," his family stated, urging for calm until the final confirmation of the return.Lt. Goldin, from Kfar Saba, was the only deceased hostage whose remains were in Gaza prior to the recent conflict escalation following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023. He was killed on August 1, 2014, during a ceasefire period, when Hamas fighters ambushed his unit.The return of Goldin's body comes amid ongoing military actions in Gaza, where Israeli strikes have reportedly resulted in over 69,000 casualties according to Hamas health officials since the latest war began.
