Israel receives, through the Red Cross, the remains of an officer killed in Gaza in 2014

Israel announced on Sunday that it had received, through the Red Cross, remains that Hamas says belong to Israeli officer Hadar Golden, who was killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014.
Forensic experts in Israel are expected to examine the remains after receiving them and confirm their identity.

A statement issued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, “Israel received, through the International Committee of the Red Cross, the coffin of a hostage who was killed and was handed over to the Israeli army and the Shin Bet inside the Gaza Strip.”

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, announced earlier on Sunday its intention to hand over Golden’s remains.

The Al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement, “Within the framework of the Al-Aqsa Flood deal to exchange prisoners, the Al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of Officer Hadar Golden, which was found yesterday afternoon (Saturday) in the path of one of the tunnels in the Yabna camp in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Under the October ceasefire agreement, Hamas handed over all 20 remaining living hostages who had been held in Gaza since the movement’s attack on Israel, in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israel.

The ceasefire agreement also included the return of the remains of 28 Israeli hostages in exchange for the remains of 360 Palestinian militants. The remains of 23 hostages were returned in exchange for the remains of 300 Palestinians, but health authorities in Gaza said that not all of them had been identified.