ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Updated:

Israel is taking the delay in the return of the remains of Hadar Goldin, who Hamas claims is in its possession, very seriously, a political source said Sunday morning. Israel demands his immediate return.

The IDF was prepared to receive the remains of a deceased hostage, with the possibility that it is those of Goldin, who was killed in Operation Protective Edge in 2014 and whose body has been held in Gaza since then.

Hamas claimed to have recovered the remains of Goldin in Rafah, the terror group told Al Jazeera on Saturday.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir arrived at Goldin’s family home amid the reports of his body’s recovery, KAN reported.

“The chief of staff reiterated his personal and the IDF’s commitment to bringing back Hadar and all the fallen hostages and emphasized the importance of restraint at these sensitive moments, until his arrival and the completion of the necessary checks and verification,” the military said.

 The remains were expected to be transferred for identification at the National Center for Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir.

A picture of Hadar Goldin is displayed during a protes at Hostage Square, November 8, 2025.
A picture of Hadar Goldin is displayed during a protes at Hostage Square, November 8, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV)


The IDF’s Southern Command told Walla that excavations by Hamas in the southern Gaza city saw seven bodies removed from the site, and that Goldin’s body may have been one of them, adding that the report cannot be verified and that “the source of all the publications is Hamas alone.”

The Goldin family said it was hopeful.

'An entire country is waiting for Hadar'

“An entire country is waiting for Hadar to be returned to us,” the family said in a statement. “The chief of staff arrived at the end of Shabbat to update us on the tremendous efforts to free the hostages, and we salute everyone involved in this national mission.

“We are waiting for news of official confirmation that Hadar has returned to Israel. We ask that you remain calm. Until it’s confirmed, it’s not over.”

Late last month, a source said Hamas knew where Goldin is buried, but was stalling his return.

Goldin was taken captive on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge. He was working to dismantle a terror tunnel in Rafah when two Hamas terrorists emerged from the tunnel and took him captive.

He was initially believed to have been taken alive, but the IDF announced days later that he had been killed before his body was taken.

The Military Rabbinate decided that the matter was clear enough to hold a funeral, and despite his body being held in Gaza, partial remains were buried in a funeral attended by thousands of people.