Israel Defense Forces Lt. Hadar Goldin was laid to rest at the military cemetery in the central city of Kfar Saba on Tuesday, more than 4,000 days after he was killed during “Operation Protective Edge” in 2014.
The funeral, which drew thousands of Israelis, came two days after the Hamas terror group returned Goldin’s remains from the Gaza Strip as part of the U.S.-brokered truce deal.
Hamas killed Goldin on Aug. 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year’s war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorists.
“The circle is closed—'Operation Protective Edge’ has come to an end,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told attendees at the funeral on Tuesday.
“For a long time, you have become a compass and a conscience for the entire people of Israel; a compass that the IDF will carry forever,” stated the chief of staff. “Hadar, you gave far beyond measure for your country. We continue to discover rays of light you left behind after your passing.
“You have returned to the land for which you fought, but we will go back to every place where a promise remains unfulfilled, and we will keep working until the last of our sons returns home.”
Four more bodies are still being held in Gaza, those of three Israelis—Meny Godard, Sgt. Ran Gvili and Dror Or—and of one Thai citizen, Sudthisak Rinthalak, who was working in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Simcha Goldin, Hadar’s father, implored fellow mourners to “remember Hadar’s smile,” saying: “We have no choice but to continue in his path.”
“I ask of you to act like Hadar and to earn a bit more hadar,” Goldin said, using the Hebrew word for splendor. “In Hadar’s prayer book, he recited every day: ‘Grant in our hearts that we may see our friends’ virtues, and not their faults.’ ... Take Hadar’s words, and apply them to yourselves.”
Goldin’s body was returned for burial on Sunday, a day after Hamas announced that it had “found” the remains in a tunnel in Rafah. After being handed over to Israeli forces inside the Strip, the coffin was transferred to Israeli territory, where it was received in a military ceremony with the participation of IDF Chief Rabbi Brig. Gen. Eyal Moshe Krim.
The remains were then transferred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir in Tel Aviv for identification.
Hundreds of Israelis gathered along intersections through which a police convoy accompanied the remains, holding Israeli flags and paying their last respects.
Goldin, who was engaged to be married, is survived by his parents Leah and Simcha, a sister, a brother and a twin brother. Goldin’s service weapon, a Tavor rifle that was brandished with glee by Hamas terrorists in video footage aired in December 2022, was recently returned to his family.
