The breakthrough in locating Goldin’s body came as part of the military’s extensive ground operation in Rafiah, which began in May 2024.
By Hezy Laing
After more than a decade the body of IDF Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was finally located and returned to Israel on November 9, 2025, bringing an end to a painful national saga that began during Operation Protective Edge.
Goldin, just 23 years old, was killed and his body abducted by Hamas terrorists on August 1, 2014, only an hour after a UN- and U.S.-brokered 72-hour ceasefire was set to take effect in Rafah.
For 4,118 days, his remains were held captive in Gaza, a period marked by relentless efforts by the IDF and the Israel Security Agency (ISA) to bring him home.
The breakthrough in locating Goldin’s body came as part of the military’s extensive ground operation in Rafah, which began in May 2024.
IDF troops scoured a massive labyrinth of tunnels under the city, where military intelligence assessed that Goldin’s remains were hidden alongside an estimated 200 Hamas operatives.
The operation involved extensive intelligence efforts and operational activities on the ground that continued throughout the past decade and intensified during the war that began on October 7, 2023.
A key development occurred when reports indicated that Hamas members were trapped in a tunnel network under the ruins of Rafah, leading to a deal that allowed them to transit to Hamas-controlled areas in exchange for turning over Goldin’s body.
Hamas claimed to have recovered Goldin’s body from a tunnel in Rafah near the border with Egypt.
The IDF confirmed that forensic testing verified the remains belonged to Goldin, allowing his parents, Simcha and Leah, and his twin brother Tzur to finally lay him to rest.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the “great agony” the family endured, noting that holding the body for so long caused immense suffering.
Goldin’s rifle, which Hamas had seized in 2014, was also found by the IDF in Gaza during the war.
The return of Goldin’s remains was a significant development in the U.S.-brokered truce, closing a painful chapter for his family and for Israel, though as of November 10, 2025, the bodies of four other hostages remained held in Gaza.
