Hamas returns Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin’s remains after more than 4,000 days

Hamas has handed over remains believed to be Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier who was killed in 2014 and his body held as a bargaining chip for over 4,000 days, Israel said Sunday.

Goldin was serving as a lieutenant in the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Givati Brigade when he was killed on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a 72-hour ceasefire took effect that ended that year’s war between Israel and Hamas.

“We are due to receive the body of Lt. Hadar Goldin this afternoon,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced at a government meeting earlier Sunday. “We have a legacy from the founding of the state – from the War of Independence to the War of Redemption – to return our soldiers who fell in battle, and we are doing that.”

Hamas announced that it found Goldin’s body in a tunnel in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah on Saturday and would return the body Sunday afternoon local time.

HAMAS HANDS OVER REMAINS OF HOSTAGE WHOSE BODY WAS RECOVERED NEARLY 2 YEARS AGO

Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that Israel received a coffin from the Red Cross inside the Gaza Strip. His office said the remains still have to undergo an official identification process by the Health Ministry National Center of Forensic Medicine, after which, the family will receive notification.

Goldin’s body was held in Gaza for 4,118 days. As part of the U.S.-brokered peace deal, the Hamas terror group is expected to return the remains of all its hostages, most of whom were taken during the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Goldin’s parents spent 11 years spearheading a campaign to bring their son home for burial.

ISRAEL RECEIVES 2 MORE HOSTAGE COFFINS FROM GAZA THROUGH RED CROSS OPERATION AS IDENTIFICATION BEGINS

“Those who abandon the dead will abandon the wounded and the living,” Goldin’s family repeated over the years.

Israel initially believed Goldin was kidnapped and being held captive, though later determined that the soldier had been killed after finding evidence – including a blood-soaked shirt and prayer fringes – in a tunnel where Goldin was taken.

Since the ceasefire began last month, Hamas has released the remains of 23 hostages. For each Israeli hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians.

The war began with the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, in which 251 people were kidnapped and 1,200 killed in Israel, mostly civilians.

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Earlier this year, the Israeli military retrieved the body of another soldier who was killed in the 2014 war.

Fox News’ Yonat Friling and The Associated Press contributed to this report.