Amri Zini was told the effort to recover the missing remains was never defined as an official mission, meaning no structured search was underway.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Amir Zini says the war is not over for his family, even after the burial of his son in Israel, Arutz Sheva reports.

Nirel Zini was killed on Oct. 7 together with Niv Raviv, whom he had planned to propose to days later. He was laid to rest, but Amir Zini later discovered that his son had been buried without his head.

He said he learned this only after insisting on seeing photographic evidence and pressing authorities for answers.

For nearly two years, Zini chose not to speak publicly, believing families without graves faced an even harsher reality. He eventually shared his account after encouragement from a neighbor, Brig. Gen. (res.) Oren Solomon, and later raised the issue at the Knesset.

Zini said investigators from Lahav 433 were aware early on that part of the body was missing but did not notify the family or formally relay the information.

When he asked whether the details had been passed to the Shin Bet or the military, he said he received inconsistent explanations, including claims that the matter had only been conveyed verbally.

By the time Zini understood the situation, the large forensic identification unit that had collected and identified remains after Oct. 7 had already been released.

He was told the effort to recover the missing remains was never defined as an official mission, meaning no structured search was underway.

Zini began going daily to the site in Be’eri where his son’s body had been found, arriving before dawn with relatives and volunteers to sift through soil. On some days, a tractor was used to turn over small sections of ground, with the earth carefully returned afterward.

He contacted officials including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and government hostage coordinator Gal Hirsch seeking assistance. At one point, a police officer joined him on a personal day to help search, but nothing was found.

Zini said he believes terrorists removed the head to use for leverage. He noted another victim, Aviad Edri, was found in similar condition nearby.

“No soldier should risk their lives to bring the head, but it should be a mission,” Zini said. “What is not ordered will not be done.”

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Shaul, a Golani Brigade soldier, died during fighting overnight on July 19–20, 2014, when the armored personnel carrier he was riding in became immobilized near Gaza City.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli forces recovered the remains of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul from Gaza in January 2025 through a covert intelligence operation that combined deception, a targeted abduction, and artillery fire used to conceal the final retrieval, more than a decade after he was killed in combat, Ynet reports.

Shaul, a Golani Brigade soldier, died during fighting overnight on July 19–20, 2014, when the armored personnel carrier he was riding in became immobilized near Gaza City’s Daraj Tuffah area and was struck by Hamas fire. Hamas later referred to him as “the Daraj soldier.”

The first breakthrough came during Rosh Hashanah in 2024, when Israeli troops seized a computer during a raid. Messages on the device showed a Hamas operative warning senior commander Izz al-Din Haddad that a detainee taken from Shifa Hospital knew where Shaul’s body was being kept. Intelligence services narrowed in on one suspect from the hospital arrests. After initially denying involvement, he described two men from Khan Younis who had spoken about the body being transferred to a Gazan named Ibrahim Hilo.

Records showed Hilo had commanded a Hamas platoon in 2014 before later working as a merchant in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood. The detainee said the body was hidden in a freezer beneath Hilo’s home. Israeli forces had previously entered the building but had not inspected the freezer.

Fearing a visible raid could endanger living hostages, security officials chose a covert approach. Hilo was lured into what he believed was a business arrangement and persuaded to rent a warehouse near the Salah al-Din route, where an elite unit abducted him after several failed attempts to bring him to the site. As the ceasefire set for Jan. 19 approached, Hilo finally admitted the body was inside a locked ice cream freezer beneath his house.

With time running out and forces already withdrawing, a Palestinian collaborator was sent alone during the night of Jan. 18–19. To mask the noise of breaking the lock, the IDF fired artillery into open areas nearby. The collaborator removed the body, wrapped it in a rug, and carried it nearly a mile to waiting Golani Brigade forces in armored vehicles. Shaul was returned to Israel and laid to rest.

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An Israeli official said the PIJ’s knowledge has been conveyed repeatedly to mediators.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli officials say members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad are aware of the location of Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s remains, and they have told mediators that the next stage of the agreement cannot advance until his body is returned, Ynet reports.

Gvili, a police officer killed in Gaza, is regarded as the final fallen hostage whose remains have not been recovered.

One senior government official described continuous work across multiple channels. “The efforts are being done through the negotiating team, and contacts with the mediators, also through connections with the Americans, as well as intelligence actions,” the official said.

He added that “there are those in the Islamic Jihad who know where Ran Gvili is,” insisting that the group’s knowledge has been conveyed repeatedly to mediators.

The same official said Israel has pressed for concrete movement. “We are not going to give up on this. Information we have given to the mediators multiple times, including recently, must be translated into effective actions to bring him back,” he stated.

Discussions last Thursday in Cairo, led by POW and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch, included a direct message to regional intermediaries.

An Israeli official told the outlet, “We shared information on the matter… and we will not relent until Ran is buried in Israel.”

According to that official, the return of Gvili’s remains is viewed as central to the broader implementation process.

He rejected Islamic Jihad’s narrative, calling the organization’s version “false” and saying responsibility ultimately lies with Hamas. He added that searches continued even after the most recent statements from Gaza.

Islamic Jihad claimed on Tuesday that it had fulfilled all obligations regarding the hostages, asserting in a Telegram message that it had “handed over the final remains” on December 2. Abu Hamza, speaking for the group’s al-Quds Brigades, said the organization had “closed the file.”

N12 reported that Hirsch responded sharply in a message to mediators.

“Islamic Jihad’s statement is unacceptable to us. There are those who know where Ran is being held. We will not let this go.” He reaffirmed that Israel will not move forward without the return of Gvili’s body, saying, “We will not relent until he is returned to his grave in Israel.”

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Agricultural worker Sudthisak Rinthalak was murdered in the Hamas attack and his body taken into Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

The mother of one of the final two hostages held in the Gaza Strip has spoken of her heartbreak, telling Hebrew-language media that her family is desperate to finally bury their “devoted” son.

Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak worked in agriculture in the fields of Gaza-adjacent Kibbutz Be’eri, sending much of his earnings home to his family in northern Thailand.

“About 10 days before October 7, we spoke for the last time,” On, Rinthalak’s mother, told Ynet in a video interview from her village in the Nong Khai province near the border with Laos.

“We asked him to come to Thailand for a visit. We hadn’t seen him for many years, since he flew to Israel to work,” she recalled.

“He said that he wanted to save some more money, and then he would come home for good. Then October 7 happened and he was murdered. I want my son home as soon as possible. I wait every day for him to come.”

At first, the family was told that Rinthalak was one of dozens of Thai agricultural workers kidnapped to Gaza by terrorists. Several months later, intelligence findings determined that he had been murdered during the massacre and that his body was abducted to the Strip. His family was then formally notified of his death.

On said the family has been in limbo since the Hamas-led attacks.

“We’re waiting for news. We’re receiving updates from the Israeli Embassy and from the Thai authorities. They called us recently to update us on the situation — about Sudthisak and the other hostage [Ran Gvili] who is still in Gaza,” she said.

“We are very grateful to the State of Israel for all the efforts to bring our son home, and to the Thai government for their work on his return. Please continue updating us if there is any more news. We are waiting here for any information about Sudthisak.”

Rinthalak and police officer Master Sgt. Ran Gvili — who was killed fighting the terrorists — are the last two hostages whose bodies remain in Gaza more than two years after they were kidnapped.

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The dispute comes as the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan continues, centered on returning hostages and locating bodies.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Qatar says the next stage of President Donald Trump’s postwar plan for Gaza should advance despite unresolved cases involving two bodies held in the Strip.

Majed al-Ansari, the spokesman for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, said in a recent podcast that Doha views the matter as humanitarian but not grounds to interrupt the broader agreement.

“We don’t believe Israel should be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the agreement over these two bodies,” he said, adding that Palestinian factions were searching for the remains “and preempt any Israeli pretexts.”

His comments sparked immediate pushback from relatives of the hostages. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the mediators must anchor every stage of the plan in the commitment to bring all captives home.

The group noted that Hamas has not fulfilled its previous obligations and argued that pressure should focus on the organization holding the bodies.

“We remind the mediators, primarily Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, that the return of the hostages is the core of this agreement,” the Forum said.

That response followed a plea from Itzik Gvili, whose son, St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ran Gvili, was killed on October 7 and whose body has not been returned.

Speaking at a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday, he urged Israel not to continue with the second phase of the ceasefire until his son and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak are retrieved.

“Now the goal is to bring our Ran home,” he said, insisting that “there is no next stage and no ‘day after’ in Gaza before Ran is home.” He added that Hamas claimed to be searching but that “there is no progress.”

The dispute comes as the first phase of Trump’s 20-point plan continues, centered on returning hostages and locating bodies.

The second phase is intended to reshape Gaza’s security structure, including a handover of weapons by Hamas and the deployment of an international stabilization force alongside a staged Israeli withdrawal.

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A Qatari spokesman says Hamas is not required to return hostage bodies before the ceasefire advances.

By World Israel News Staff

A Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman said Hamas is not obligated to abide by the ceasefire requirement to return the bodies of Israeli hostages, arguing that Israel should simply give up on the captives in order to allow the agreement to move to phase two.

Under the Trump-brokered ceasefire implemented in October, Hamas must return the bodies of all hostages kidnapped from Israel during the October 7th massacres before phase two — which would permit massive rebuilding of the Gaza Strip — can begin.

Despite the clear terms of the agreement, Qatari official Majed al-Ansari dismissed Israel’s demand that Hamas return the bodies of two deceased hostages: Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a police officer killed while battling invading terrorists, and Thai farm worker Sontisak Rintalak.

Rather than acknowledge Hamas’ violation of the ceasefire, al-Ansari appeared to blame Israel, accusing Jerusalem of “obstructing” the peace plan by insisting that the terror group meet its obligations.

“We don’t believe Israel should be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the agreement over these two bodies. At the same time, of course, the Palestinian side is working to retrieve the bodies and preempt any Israeli pretexts,” al-Ansari told the Al-Araby Al-Jadeed podcast.

“The current endeavor for Qatar and its partners in the region is to move from the first phase to the second [of the plan], and thus achieve a sustainable peace that can comprehensively end the state of war in the Gaza Strip,” he continued.

“There are significant challenges in reaching this stage of truce, but the focus now is on maintaining it long enough to reach a political solution in which all parties in the region, along with the international community and the United States, work together to make this plan a success and end the war,” he added.

On Saturday evening, Gvili’s father, Itzik, called on the Netanyahu government not to proceed to phase two of the agreement until his son’s body is returned.

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Slain hostage Ran Gvili’s father said there should be “no day after” in Gaza until Hamas fulfills its obligations..

By World Israel News Staff

The father of the last remaining Israeli hostage held by Hamas is urging the Netanyahu government not to advance to stage two of Trump’s ceasefire plan until his son is returned.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a police officer in an elite unit, was killed in battle on October 7th while fighting invading terrorists. His body was kidnapped to Gaza and has been held by Hamas for more than two years.

Gvili and Thai farm worker Sontisak Rintalak are the final deceased hostages kidnapped during the Hamas-led massacres whose remains have yet to be returned to their families.

In recent weeks, Gvili’s family members have spoken frequently to Israeli media, expressing their fears that his body may never be recovered. They said they believe that Hamas is intentionally holding his remains to manipulate Israel and stall progress under the ceasefire deal.

Under the terms of the Trump-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in October, Hamas is obligated to return all the bodies of the hostages before phase two of the agreement — which would allow massive rebuilding and rehabilitation of the Strip — can move forward.

Addressing a crowd at a Tel Aviv rally on Saturday night, Gvili’s father Itzik called on Israel to resist international pressure to advance the ceasefire when Hamas has failed to uphold its commitments.

“Hamas says it’s looking” for the bodies of his son and Thai national Rintalak, Itzik said, “but we don’t see any progress. They’re messing with us, and it has to stop, now.”

He added that there should be “no day after” the war in Gaza unless Hamas fully abides by the terms of the truce.

“The goal is to bring our Rani back home,” he stressed. “Enough with the pain and open wounds — we want to get off this rollercoaster.”

“It’s time to bring Sudthisak and Rani back and achieve closure,” he added.

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Master Sgt. Ran Gvili’s remains have been held in Gaza for more than two years.

By World Israel News Staff

The father of the last Israeli hostage held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip is expressing doubts that the terror group even knows the location of his son’s body, telling Hebrew-language media that the family is “praying” his body will not be lost forever.

Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, a member of the Yasam elite police unit, was killed in battle against invading Hamas terrorists on October 7. His body was abducted to Gaza and has been held by the terror group for more than two years.

Gvili and Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak are the final two deceased hostages whose remains have not yet been returned to Israel.

“We pray that he won’t be another Ron Arad, another [Hadar] Goldin, and that we won’t carry this [burden] around for many, many years,” Gvili’s father, Itzik, said in an emotional interview with Hebrew-language KAN News.

Arad was an Israeli Air Force navigator whose plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. He was captured by local terror groups, who initially provided proof of life and entered negotiations with Israel, but eventually contact was lost. He has long been presumed dead.

Goldin, an IDF officer, was killed during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge. His body was abducted by Hamas and held for 11 years before finally being returned to Israel in early November.

Gvili’s father said the family does not believe that Hamas is genuinely interested in abiding by the terms of the Trump-brokered ceasefire and returning his body.

“Hamas says they’re looking for his body, but we don’t see any progress,” he said.

He added that he believes the terror group “are playing games and deceiving us.”

Despite being told his son was killed fighting terrorists, Gvili said he will continue to hold out hope for a miracle until the body is returned.

“Just as Ran didn’t forget the country that day, I don’t want the country to forget him,” he continued.

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The Hostages and Missing Families Forum says it will largely end its work as nearly all captives have been returned.

By World Israel News Staff

The main organization representing the families of the hostages kidnapped on October 7th announced that it ending its activities, saying that the return of nearly all captives no longer justifies the existence of a formal advocacy group.

“The official struggle is over,” said Lior Chorev, head of strategy at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel. “There’s a hostage deal, and the U.S. and Israel stand behind it.”

Chorev noted that “there are three hostages left, and it’s unclear how much time it will take to bring them home.”

He added that although the Forum will cease its official operations, volunteers will continue supporting the families of the remaining hostages. The organization’s remaining funds will be used to assist those families.

The Forum, created in the aftermath of October 7th to represent the families of the some 250 people who were kidnapped by Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups, recently held what will likely be one of its final protests in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening.

Demonstrators called for the return of the bodies of Israelis Dror Or and Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, as well as Thai national Sudthisak Rinthalak.

In October, Israel and Hamas agreed to a Trump administration–brokered ceasefire that secured the release of 20 living hostages and the return of the 28 bodies of deceased captives held by Hamas.

So far, Hamas has returned 25 bodies.

Shira Gvili, whose brother Ran — a police officer in an elite counterterrorism unit — was killed in battle against invading Hamas terrorists, said she understood the Forum’s decision to shut down.

“You can’t have an entire building for three families,” Gvili told Channel 12 News. “The struggle is more intimate now.”

She added that her family was grateful for the “loving embrace” the organization offered over the past two years.

Elad Or, whose brother Dror was killed during the Kibbutz Be’eri massacre, said the army had reassured him that his brother would not be left behind.

He told Ynet that the difficulty in retrieving the bodies of Or and Gvili stemmed from logistical challenges, as they are believed to be in a location difficult to access without heavy extraction equipment.

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Hamas returned Joshua Loitu Mollel’s body in early November after holding it for more than two years.

By World Israel News Staff

The body of a Tanzanian exchange student murdered by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7 was flown back to his home country on Tuesday, bringing an end to more than two years of anguish for his family.

Joshua Loitu Mollel, 21, had been in Israel for only about three weeks before the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel. He had recently begun an agriculture work-study program on Kibbutz Nir Oz and is believed to have been kidnapped alive but murdered hours later.

Before Mollel’s coffin was flown home on Tuesday morning, Israeli and Tanzanian officials, along with members of the public, gathered at Ben-Gurion Airport for a memorial ceremony.

Tanzanian Ambassador to Israel Alex Gabriel Kalua laid a wreath on the coffin, which was draped with flowers and the flags of Israel and Tanzania.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group that has long fought to return the bodies of those abducted and killed on Oct. 7, expressed “deep sorrow over Joshua’s murder” in an open letter to his family.

“We, the families of hostages from Israel, share your path of suffering — in anxiety over Joshua’s fate, in horror and grief upon receiving news of his murder, and in concern that he would not be returned,” the letter read.

“We hope that his return for burial beside you in Tanzania will provide your souls with certainty and rest, and that you will know comfort.”

Mollel’s body was returned to Israel by the Hamas terror group in early November, after being held in Gaza for more than two years. He is survived by his parents and four siblings.

Ambassador Eynat Shlein, who heads the international cooperation entity that facilitated Mollel’s agricultural studies program in Israel, said a scholarship in his name will be established at his university in Tanzania.

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Talik Gvili expressed deep gratitude to the Israeli public for standing with her family as she fights for the return of her son’s body.

By World Israel News Staff

The mother of a deceased hostage whose body remains in the Gaza Strip said she hopes her son will soon be returned, expressing deep fear that he will become the next Hadar Goldin — the Israeli soldier whose body was held by Hamas for more than a decade before finally being brought home.

Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, 24, was killed in battle against invading Hamas terrorists on October 7, 2023. His body was abducted to Gaza by the terror group after he fell while defending Kibbutz Alumim.

Gvili served in Yasam, a police special forces unit, and was among the first responders battling the terrorists who invaded the Gaza border communities.

Speaking with the Hebrew-language outlet Ynet, his mother, Talik, said she worries her son will become a “symbol” of victory for Hamas, similar to how the terror group repeatedly boasted about holding Goldin’s body for years.

She described her family’s ordeal as “surreal,” saying they hope the process to return Ran’s body “will be over as soon as possible,” as they struggle to cope with each day he remains in captivity.

Talik said she has met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu numerous times over the past two years, and she emphasized her gratitude to the people of Israel for supporting her family throughout their struggle to repatriate their son’s body.

“I need to give a huge thank you to the Israeli public, because it really feels like they are embracing us and are truly behind us — and that gives us so much strength,” she told Ynet.

Talik added that the family has been told that the location of Ran’s body is “more or less known,” but there are significant challenges preventing a rescue.

Under the terms of the Trump-brokered ceasefire agreement signed in October, Hamas is obligated to return the bodies of all hostages abducted on October 7.

The group still holds the bodies of three hostages — two Israelis and one Thai national — while repeatedly stalling, in what Israeli officials deem a blatant violation of the agreement.

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“The effort to return all hostages continues without interruption and will not cease until every last hostage is brought home.”

By World Israel News Staff

The body of an Israeli hostage returned from Gaza on Thursday night has been officially identified as Meni Godard, 73, who was abducted and murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7 during the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri. His wife, Ayelet, was also killed during the assault. The couple is survived by four children and six grandchildren.

The body was transferred to Israeli authorities via the Red Cross, with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad coordinating the handover to IDF forces and the Shin Bet.

Upon arrival in Israel, the coffin was received in a military ceremony attended by the IDF Chief Rabbi before being transported to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for official identification. The process confirmed that the remains were indeed Godard’s, and the family was immediately notified.

In an earlier statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “Israel has received, through the Red Cross, the body of a fallen hostage. The effort to return all hostages continues without interruption and will not cease until every last hostage is brought home. Our hearts are with the families of the deceased at this difficult hour.”

Earlier Thursday, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had announced they would hand over a deceased hostage at 8:00 p.m., claiming the body had been discovered in the Morg axis area north of Khan Younis.

Despite the return of Godard’s body, the terrorist organizations continue to hold two other deceased Israeli hostages and one hostage from Thailand, in clear violation of the ceasefire agreement.

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Meni Goddard’s daughter says officials offered “no concrete information” about a time frame for the return of her father’s body.

By World Israel News Staff

The family of one of the last remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip had been told by the Israeli government that the return of their father’s body could take months or even years, as little is known about his current whereabouts.

Meni Goddard, 73, was murdered by invading Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists on October 7, 2023, in Kibbutz Be’eri. His body was abducted to the Gaza Strip, where it has been held for more than two years.

In a clear violation of the Trump-brokered ceasefire, Hamas has not secured the return of Goddard’s body, claiming it is being held by PIJ.

Under the terms of the truce, Hamas pledged to return all hostages — living and deceased— regardless of which group was responsible for their abduction or captivity.

Since the deal was signed in October, most of the deceased hostages have been returned, including IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, whose body was held by Hamas since 2014.

But for the Goddard family, the wait continues.

“We understand that [the process] could go on for months,” said Bar, Goddard’s daughter, in an interview with Army Radio on Wednesday morning.

“I spoke with [government hostage coordinator] Gal Hirsch, and I understood that there is no concrete information they can give us,” she added.

Goddard’s wife, Ayelet, 63, hid for several hours during the October 7 massacre, messaging their children that their father had been murdered.

She was later killed as well, her body found in bushes near the family home.

The couple is survived by their four children — Mor, Gal, Bar, and Goni — and several grandchildren.

Goddard’s body is one of three deceased Israeli nationals still held in Gaza, alongside Master Sgt. Ran Gvili, who was killed in battle against invading terrorists, and Dror Or of Kibbutz Be’eri.

The body of a Thai foreign worker, Sudthisak Rinthalak, also remains in Gaza.

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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.”

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Goldin, an officer in the Givati Brigade, was killed on August 1, 2014, shortly after a humanitarian ceasefire went into effect.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Hamas announced Saturday that it had located the body of Israeli soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, nearly eleven years after he was killed and abducted during the 2014 Gaza war.

The claim was reported by Al Jazeera, which aired footage showing a body bag marked with Goldin’s name. Israel has not confirmed the report, and Hamas has made no statement regarding the possible return of the remains.

According to a senior source within the group, six additional bodies, most likely Hamas terrorists, were discovered near the site where Goldin’s remains were allegedly found.

Israeli officials have not verified any of these claims, emphasizing that the reports have yet to be substantiated by official channels.

Goldin, an officer in the Givati Brigade, was killed on August 1, 2014, shortly after a humanitarian ceasefire went into effect.

Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel in Rafah and attacked his unit, killing three soldiers and seizing Goldin’s body before retreating underground.

His remains have been held in Gaza since then, and efforts to secure their return have been ongoing for years.

Recent days have seen intensified searches in Rafah’s Jenina neighborhood, where the Red Cross and Hamas members reportedly scoured an area believed to contain the bodies of Israeli hostages.

The neighborhood lies within territory now controlled by the Israel Defense Forces, which estimate that around 150 Hamas operatives remain trapped in a network of tunnels beneath it.

Earlier this week, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir advised government leaders that any agreement allowing safe passage for the trapped terrorists should depend on Hamas releasing Goldin’s remains. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly opposed granting such passage.

US officials have pressed Israel to consider limited humanitarian access to advance a broader ceasefire framework tied to President Donald Trump’s regional plan.

Following the Al Jazeera broadcast, the IDF stated that it possesses “no information indicating that Hadar Goldin’s body is located in a Rafah tunnel,” calling the reports inaccurate and harmful to the Goldin family. The military stressed that any verified updates on hostages or fallen soldiers will come directly from official Israeli sources.

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By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF denied a report on Wednesday broadcast by army radio that the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin, the Israeli officer captured during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, is being kept inside a tunnel on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in Gaza alongside 150 terrorists Hamas is seeking safe passage for.

Although the tactic of using living and deceased hostages as human shields has been employed frequently by Hamas, Goldin’s body is not being used to shield the terrorists who are requesting immunity.

The report attempted to explain the reason Israel has so far avoided attacking that tunnel system is to protect the remains of hostages. 

Goldin was abducted on August 1, 2014, while leading a mission to dismantle a terror tunnel in Rafah.

He was captured after two Hamas terrorists emerged from an underground shaft and ambushed his unit. His body has been held in Gaza ever since, along with that of Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul.

Meanwhile, Hamas announced that it would return the remains of another Israeli hostage on Wednesday evening at 9 p.m.

After a significant delay in returning the bodies of deceased hostages, Hamas released the bodies of several soldiers and hostages killed in Gaza, including Staff Sgt. Itay Chen, whose remains were handed over on Tuesday.

Over the weekend, the group also returned the bodies of Col. Asaf Hamami, 40, Capt. Omer Neutra, 21, and St.-Sgt. Oz Daniel, 19.

Seven hostage remains are still being held in Gaza.

An earlier report by The Jerusalem Post revealed that Hamas has long known the locations of both Goldin and Hamami and has deliberately delayed returning them as part of its ongoing negotiations with Israel.
.

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