Leah Goldin, the mother of Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains have been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014, called on the United Nations during a press briefing on Thursday at its headquarters in New York City to help facilitate the return of her son and other deceased hostages.
Goldin traveled from Israel to the United States ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting scheduled for that afternoon. The session, called at Washington’s request, will discuss Resolution 2474, which addresses the return of the bodies of missing persons held by hostile parties during armed conflict—the first such discussion since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Goldin urged all U.N. member states to take appropriate measures to locate missing persons and ensure that their remains are returned to their families.
“For nearly 11 years, my son’s body has been held in Gaza by a terrorist organization that exploits humanitarian frameworks for political gain, and for nearly 11 years, the international community has looked away,” she said.
On Aug. 1, 2014, during Israel’s “Operation Protective Edge,” two hours after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire, terrorists ambushed three Israeli soldiers from a tunnel in the basement of a house in the Gaza Strip. The terrorists killed two of the soldiers on the spot, and shot Goldin, 23, who later died. Hamas is also holding the remains of Oron Shaul, another soldier killed in the military operation.
Since Resolution 2474 was adopted in 2019, its enforcement has been virtually nonexistent, according to Goldin.
“The words of the resolution were powerful, but words alone do not bring our children home,” she said.
Goldin said that the international body must begin to enforce Resolution 2474 “not electively, not symbolically but seriously.”
“Demand the return of the missing, demand accountability, and demand the dignity that every human being deserves in life and in death,” she continued.
Goldin said that if the United Nations cannot enforce its own resolutions, then there is no hope “for those who look to it for protection.”
“Do not let this resolution fade into irrelevance,” she continued. “Let it stand, let it speak, and let it bring Hadar home.”
