‘It took 11 years to bring him back’: Hadar Goldin’s family experiences closure with return of his remains from Gaza

Goldin’s mother, Leah, spoke of the long fight to retrieve her son and the principles that guided the family throughout the ordeal.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Lt. Hadar Goldin’s remains were returned to Israel, following more than 11 years in Hamas captivity, his family said in their first public remarks from their home in Kfar Saba.

Israeli military and security units carried out the recovery that brought Goldin back to the country he served, and his parents used the moment to frame his return as both a personal closure and a renewed call to action on behalf of other hostages still held or missing.

Goldin’s mother, Leah, spoke of the long fight to retrieve her son and the principles that guided the family throughout the ordeal.

“Eleven years ago, we stood here in August after Hadar was taken from us, and we cried out that we must not leave Gaza without bringing Hadar back. We took it for granted that the State of Israel would not leave soldiers behind. It took us 11 years to bring him home through the IDF and security forces,” she said, urging the public to remember the commitments Israel owes its soldiers.

Leah framed three core values at the heart of the family’s struggle: friendship and comradeship, burial on Israeli soil, and human dignity.

“The first value is friendship and comradeship, the second is burial in Israel, and the third is human dignity. These are the values we fought for. Sadly, we faced many disappointments,” she said, adding that she would continue campaigning for others. “I’m not just fighting for Hadar—I’m fighting for the next hostage.”

Simcha Goldin, Hadar’s father, emphasized the military’s role in bringing their son home and the broader meaning of that success.

“We brought Lieutenant 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. The IDF brought Hadar back to his homeland—no one else,” he said, urging that the nation hold fast to its commitments to soldiers.

Both parents linked the recovery to a wider definition of victory in the conflict. As Simcha put it, “Victory means bringing home the hostages and bringing home our soldiers to Israel.”