Hamas announced on Sunday that it will hand over the body of Israeli officer Hadar Goldin, which it said was found in a tunnel in Rafah, southern Gaza.
اضافة اعلان
In a statement, the movement said, “As part of the Al-Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, the Al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of officer Hadar Goldin, which was discovered yesterday (Saturday) in the path of one of the tunnels in the Yibna camp area of Rafah City, southern Gaza, at 2:00 p.m. Gaza time (12:00 GMT).”
According to Hamas, the body was located Saturday inside one of the tunnels in Rafah’s Yibna camp.
Israeli forensic experts are expected to examine the remains after they are received to confirm whether they indeed belong to Goldin.
If confirmed, this would bring the number of bodies returned by Hamas since the current truce took effect on October 10 to 25, including Goldin.
Israeli media outlets reported that Israel had allowed Hamas members and Red Cross personnel to carry out a search operation earlier on Saturday in an area under Israeli control inside Gaza, though neither Hamas nor the Israeli army confirmed this.
Goldin, who was 23 years old, served in 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 had come into effect.
