Cynthia Ezegwu
Hundreds of Israelis gathered on Tuesday in the central town of Kfar Saba to lay to rest army officer Hadar Goldin, whose remains were returned by Hamas after being held in Gaza for more than a decade.
Crowds filled the military cemetery, with some climbing onto rooftops to catch a glimpse of the funeral, while others watched from chairs in front of large outdoor screens. Blue-and-white Israeli flags waved in the wind as mourners held Goldin’s portrait and banners declaring: “We will remember forever.”
Goldin’s remains were returned to Israel on Sunday as part of a Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by US President Donald Trump. His father, Simcha Goldin, described his son as a “Jewish warrior” and urged mourners to uphold Hadar’s legacy by “behaving righteously and not hating one another.”
Hadar Goldin, 23, was killed on August 1, 2014, during Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge” in Gaza. He was leading a mission to destroy Hamas tunnels when he was ambushed and killed, with his body seized shortly into a brief humanitarian truce. His return closes an agonizing 11-year period that haunted both his family and the nation.
“Today is a hard day, but I am happy because Hadar’s coming was a dream,” said Israel Blumshtein, a resident of Kfar Saba. “It was important that his body be returned because in our army… we do not leave anyone anywhere.”
Goldin’s twin brother, Tzur Goldin, said Hamas’s hostage-taking aimed to “weaken Israeli society, which is built on family” and stressed the importance of upholding Israel’s founding principle of never abandoning its soldiers.
A symbolic funeral had been held in 2014 after parts of Goldin’s body were recovered, but repeated efforts to retrieve the rest through previous prisoner exchanges failed.
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“It’s some kind of relief because he’s been there for more than 11 years,” said Aharon Gamzu, who attended the funeral draped in an Israeli flag. “We all go to the army when we are 18 and trust that the army and country will do everything to bring us back.”
Since the truce in the latest Gaza conflict took effect on October 10, Hamas has returned all 20 living hostages it held and the remains of 24 others, including Goldin. Four bodies of hostages seized during Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack remain in Palestinian territory.
The funeral marked the end of a long national and familial wait and offered a moment of closure for Goldin’s family and the wider Israeli community.