Israel announced on Sunday that Hamas has handed over remains believed to belong to Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier whose body has been held for more than 4,000 days since his death in 2014.

Goldin, serving as a lieutenant in the Givati Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was killed on August 1, 2014. His death occurred just two hours after a 72-hour ceasefire commenced, marking the end of the conflict between Israel and Hamas that year.

During a government meeting on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We are anticipated to receive Lt. Hadar Goldin’s body this afternoon. From the War of Independence to the War of Redemption, we have a duty to bring back our soldiers who have fallen, and we are committed to fulfilling that duty.”

Hamas declared that it had discovered Goldin’s remains in a tunnel in Rafah, a city located in southern Gaza, on Saturday. The group pledged to return the body by Sunday afternoon, local time.

An undated handout photo depicts Hadar Goldin, the Israeli officer killed during the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas in southern Gaza. (Photo courtesy of Bring Them Home Now/Handout via Reuters)

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.

Freed Israeli hostage Matan Angrest holds a photo of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 whose body has been held in Gaza since then, during a rally calling for the return of the deceased hostages who are held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

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

“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.

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