Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades handed over on Sunday the remains of an Israeli soldier as it stressed that its fighters are defending themselves in Rafah amid ongoing attacks in violation of ceasefire deal.
Israeli occupation authorities said they received a coffin containing remains “believed to be” of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier who was killed and whose body was taken into Gaza in 2014.
The casket had been picked up by the Red Cross from Hamas in southern Gaza, and then returned to the Israeli occupation military.
The remains will be taken to the Abu Kabir forensic institute in Tel Aviv for identification, The Times of Israeli reported.
Earlier on Sunday, Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced it would hand over the remains of the Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin to authorities at 2pm (12:00 GMT) as part of the current ceasefire and prisoner exchange.
In a statement, the resistance group said Goldin’s body was retrieved on Saturday afternoon from a tunnel in the Yebna camp in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Al Jazeera airs exclusive footage from the Yebna camp in Rafah documenting the extraction of Qassam elements along with a Red Cross team of the body of Officer Hadar Goldin and six martyrs from inside one of the tunnels. pic.twitter.com/N9h9ljFfHe
— Mohd Naved (@Naved1Naved) November 8, 2025
Goldin was captured and reported killed during an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip in 2014. He is one of the five remaining captives meant to be returned to Israel under the terms of the ceasefire, which began last month.
“Fighters Defensing Themselves in Rafah”
Meanwhile on Sunday, Al-Qassam said the Israeli occupation “must take full responsibility for the clashes with its fighters in Rafah, who are defending themselves in an area under Israeli control.”
“The enemy must understand that the Qassam Brigades do not recognize the concept of surrender or handing themselves over to the enemy,” the group’s statement read.
Al-Qassam says its fighters in Rafah will not surrender and places responsibility for any renewed clashes on Israel, as negotiations continue over the handover of Hadar Goldin’s body and the fate of several hundred Palestinian fighters trapped in the area.… pic.twitter.com/OWTj6rS3r6
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 9, 2025
“We place the mediators before their responsibilities, and they must find a solution to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire, preventing the enemy from using false pretexts to violate it and exploit that to target innocent civilians in Gaza.”
The Qassam Brigades also called for additional technical teams and equipment to help in the attempts to recover the remaining bodies of captives.
“The process of retrieving bodies during the previous stage took place under extremely complex and difficult conditions, yet we fulfilled our obligations under the agreement,” it said.
Source: Israeli and Palestinian media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)
