Journalism of Courage
Thousands of people, including family members and friends, on Tuesday, bid farewell to Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, whose body was returned to Israel on Sunday as part of the Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza that began last month.
The funeral held at the military cemetery in Kfar Saba brings closure to the 11-year wait of the Goldin family, who had been travelling the world in a public campaign seeking his return.
“Hadar, we waited for you for 11 years. That’s a long time. A very long time,” Leah Goldin, the mother of Hadar, said at his funeral.
“I honestly can’t explain how we did it, except that every time we nearly broke, someone in the family would jump in and say: ‘But what would Hadar say?’
We’re here because of everything you left us, all your instructions for life, and because of who you are,” she said further.
The remains of the 23-year-old were returned to Israel after 4,117 days, making him the longest-held Israeli hostage by Hamas.
Unlike the slain hostages returned by Hamas since October 10, Goldin was not abducted by the militants on October 7, 2023. Goldin was 23 when he was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas.
He was shot dead while dismantling a Hamas terror tunnel in Rafah on August 1, 2014, the morning of the ceasefire after 50 days of fighting. Goldin’s body was abducted by Hamas, which carried it over to Gaza along with Oron Shaul, another soldier who was also killed in the same attack.
The military retrieved Shaul’s body in January.
Goldin’s parents traveled around Israel and around the world, meeting with politicians and leaders, and testifying at the UN in their desperate bid to retrieve his body for burial.
“Hamas’ kidnapping of bodies is attempting to destroy families and destroy Israel from the inside,” said Tzur Goldin, the twin brother of Hadar. He noted how many hundreds of thousands of Israelis over the years had prayed for his brother’s return, lit candles, came to protests, wore t-shirts with his photo, or hung up signs in support.
His sister, Ayelet, called it a “historic moment” to finally be able to stand with her family and say the mourner’s kaddish, the traditional Jewish prayer for the dead, over her brother’s body and not over an empty grave.
“Suddenly, now that you’re here, I understand how sacred and profound it is to bring you home, because this is where you belong and this is where you need to be,” said Edna Sarusi, Hadar’s former fiancée.
Meanwhile, the IDF on Tuesday announced that the tunnel from where Goldin was abducted has been destroyed.
Leah Goldin told The Associated Press earlier this year that recovering her son’s body is part of the social contract between Israel and its citizens, who are required by law to serve in the military. “Hadar is a soldier who went into combat and they abandoned him, and they destroyed his humanitarian rights and ours as well,” Goldin said.
She said that her family often felt frustrated by the lack of support from the government in their struggle to bring Hadar, who had just become engaged, home for burial.
