Hamas on Sunday handed over the remains of Hadar Goldin, an IDF officer who was killed in the 2014 Gaza war, as the Israeli military continued strikes on Gaza despite the ceasefire deal.
Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said Goldin’s body, which had been in Gaza for more than 10 years, was found in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza, along with the remains of six of its fighters. Later in the day, Israel confirmed through forensic testing that it received Golin’s remains.
The Times of Israel reported that on Saturday, Hamas members and Red Cross workers entered the Jenina neighborhood of Rafah, which is located on the Israeli-occupied side of the “yellow line,” to locate Goldin’s remains.
There are an estimated 150 Palestinian militants trapped on the Israeli side of the yellow line near Rafah, and according to Israeli media, Israel conditioned any deal on their movement on the release of Goldin’s body. The White House has reportedly been pushing for Israel to grant the militant safe passage to the Hamas-controlled part of Gaza.
The al-Qassam Brigades has said its fighters trapped in the area won’t “surrender” to Israel and called on “mediators” to find a solution.
Hamas has also continued to work to recover the remains of Israeli captives who were brought into Gaza during the October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. So far, 24 out of the 28 hostage bodies have been sent to Israel through the Red Cross, meaning four are left. Israel has returned the bodies of 15 Palestinians for each Israeli body.
Also on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike near Khan Younis in southern Gaza killed at least one Palestinian, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Sunday that since the truce deal went into effect on October 10, Israeli forces have killed 241 Palestinians and injured 619.
