Overview
- The International Committee of the Red Cross received from Hamas a body the group says is Lt. Hadar Goldin, and the IDF said the remains are being transferred to Israeli custody.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said identification tests will begin immediately upon arrival at Israel’s Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine.
- Hamas said the body was found in a Rafah tunnel during searches, while Israeli media reported access for Hamas and Red Cross teams in an Israeli-controlled area and the IDF urged caution about unverified location claims.
- The transfer falls under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire’s remains-for-remains framework; if confirmed, Goldin would be the 24th deceased hostage returned, leaving four bodies still to be repatriated.
- Reports that Hamas sought safe passage for trapped militants in Rafah in connection with the handover were circulated by media, but Israeli officials publicly denied any negotiated “deal within a deal.”