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Look, if there's one thing that's defined the grim calculus of Israel's endless tango with Hamas, it's the terrorists' macabre habit of hoarding the dead like bargaining chips in some twisted game of poker. But tonight, after more than a decade of stonewalling and heartbreak, there's a flicker of hope piercing the fog of Gaza's latest excavations.
The IDF is gearing up to receive the remains of a deceased hostage, fingers crossed, it could be those of Hadar Goldin, the brave 23-year-old lieutenant snuffed out in 2014 during Operation Protective Edge, his body unceremoniously carted off to Hamas's underground trophy case.
Hamas, ever the reliable source of propaganda and torture, crowed to Al Jazeera on Saturday that they'd finally "recovered" Goldin's remains from a dig in Rafah. Yeah, like they searched high and low to find a person they captured and killed as a bargaining chip.
Hamas, ever the reliable source of propaganda and torture, crowed to Al Jazeera on Saturday that they'd finally "recovered" Goldin's remains from a dig in Rafah. Yeah, like they searched high and low to find a person they captured and killed as a bargaining chip.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir didn't waste a moment, traveling to the Goldin family home as soon as the reports hit, per KAN. Smart move; in a story this raw, you lead with empathy before the facts start flying.
"The chief of staff reiterated his personal and the IDF's commitment to bringing back Hadar and all the fallen hostages and emphasized the importance of restraint at these sensitive moments, until his arrival and the completion of the necessary checks and verification," the military said. [Hold the cheers, folks, Hamas lies like it's an Olympic sport.]
The IDF's Southern Command, chatting with Walla, laid it out plain: Hamas's backhoe brigade in southern Gaza unearthed seven bodies from the site, and Goldin's might be in the mix. But they're not buying it wholesale. The report can't be verified, and "the source of all the publications is Hamas alone." In other words, treat this like you'd treat a promise from the ayatollahs: Skepticism is your best friend until the DNA says otherwise.
Through it all, the Goldin family, those quiet warriors who've kept the flame alive for 11 excruciating years, clung to cautious optimism. "An entire country is waiting for Hadar to be returned to us," the family said in a statement. "The chief of staff arrived at the end of Shabbat to update us on the tremendous efforts to free the hostages, and we salute everyone involved in this national mission. We are waiting for news of official confirmation that Hadar has returned to Israel. We ask that you remain calm. Until it’s confirmed, it’s not over."
God, if that doesn't hit you right in the gut. Late last month, whispers from a source confirmed what many suspected: Hamas knew damn well where Goldin was buried but played the stall game, dragging out the agony like it was just another leverage point in their endless war of attrition.
Flash back to August 1, 2014, in the sweltering hell of Rafah.
The IDF's Southern Command, chatting with Walla, laid it out plain: Hamas's backhoe brigade in southern Gaza unearthed seven bodies from the site, and Goldin's might be in the mix. But they're not buying it wholesale. The report can't be verified, and "the source of all the publications is Hamas alone." In other words, treat this like you'd treat a promise from the ayatollahs: Skepticism is your best friend until the DNA says otherwise.
Through it all, the Goldin family, those quiet warriors who've kept the flame alive for 11 excruciating years, clung to cautious optimism. "An entire country is waiting for Hadar to be returned to us," the family said in a statement. "The chief of staff arrived at the end of Shabbat to update us on the tremendous efforts to free the hostages, and we salute everyone involved in this national mission. We are waiting for news of official confirmation that Hadar has returned to Israel. We ask that you remain calm. Until it’s confirmed, it’s not over."
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Hadar Goldin is displayed during a protest at Hostage Square, November 8, 2025. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/MAARIV) |
God, if that doesn't hit you right in the gut. Late last month, whispers from a source confirmed what many suspected: Hamas knew damn well where Goldin was buried but played the stall game, dragging out the agony like it was just another leverage point in their endless war of attrition.
Flash back to August 1, 2014, in the sweltering hell of Rafah.
Goldin, part of an elite engineering unit, was knee-deep in dismantling one of those infernal terror tunnels when two Hamas goons popped out like jack-in-the-box demons and snatched him. At first, the horror was that he might still be breathing in captivity. Days later, the IDF's gut-wrenching verdict: He was killed in the chaos, his body the prize they dragged back anyway. Sick scumcrumpets.
The Military Rabbinate, sifting through the shards of certainty in an uncertain war, green-lit a funeral anyway, partial remains laid to rest in a ceremony that drew thousands, a nation mourning a son it couldn't fully bury. It's the kind of half-measure that sticks in your craw, a reminder that Hamas doesn't just fight dirty; they fight eternal and extremely dirty.
If these turns out to be Goldin's, it'll be a long-overdue gut punch to the terrorists' strategy of using the dead to bleed Israel dry. But until the lab lights confirm it, we're all just holding our collective breath. One more round in this marathon of memory and resolve.
The Military Rabbinate, sifting through the shards of certainty in an uncertain war, green-lit a funeral anyway, partial remains laid to rest in a ceremony that drew thousands, a nation mourning a son it couldn't fully bury. It's the kind of half-measure that sticks in your craw, a reminder that Hamas doesn't just fight dirty; they fight eternal and extremely dirty.
If these turns out to be Goldin's, it'll be a long-overdue gut punch to the terrorists' strategy of using the dead to bleed Israel dry. But until the lab lights confirm it, we're all just holding our collective breath. One more round in this marathon of memory and resolve.
Stay tuned, and pray it's him.
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