Israel army chief vows to return remains of officer slain in 2014 Gaza war

JERUSALEM:

Israel's military chief pledged Saturday to bring home the remains of an officer killed more than a decade ago in Gaza, after media reports that Hamas had pinpointed the location of his body following a search greenlit by Israel.

The army said Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir had met with the family of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed during the 2014 six-week war in Gaza.

Since his death, Goldin's body has been held in Gaza but Hamas has never publicly confirmed his death or acknowledged possession of his remains.

"Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir met this evening with the Goldin family and updated them on the information known to the IDF so far," the military said in a statement, without specifying what the information was.

"The chief of the general staff emphasised his commitment and the IDF's commitment to bringing back Hadar and all the fallen hostages."

Israeli media reports said Israel had allowed Hamas and Red Cross personnel to conduct a search earlier on Saturday in an area under Israeli control, although neither Hamas nor the military has confirmed.

Several networks, including Channel 12, reported that the group had recovered Goldin's remains in a tunnel under a part of the southern city of Rafah held by the army.

Another Israeli soldier, Oron Shaul, was also killed in the 2014 conflict. His body was recovered earlier this year during the latest war, which erupted after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

Efforts to secure the return of both soldiers' remains in past prisoner swaps had repeatedly failed.

Goldin, 23, was part of an Israeli unit tasked with locating and destroying Hamas tunnels when he was killed on August 1, 2014, just hours after a 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire took effect.

The army said his team came under fire from militants, who killed him and seized his body.

Israel has listed Goldin among the deceased hostages whose remains it seeks to repatriate under the ongoing US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the latest Gaza war.