On Tuesday Hamas released a video about the capture of IDF soldier, Hadar Goldin.
Hadar Goldin, was captured nine years ago by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, during an ambush and an agreed ceasefire. Believed to be killed due to evidence at the scene and in the terror tunnel he was taken down, his funeral was held in Israel two days after the kidnapping. His body, however, has never been retrieved.
Reportedly, every year on 1st August, Hamas release a statement and/or some images, reminding Israel of their captured soldier. The video, deemed by Israeli news anchors as “psychological warfare”, revealed nothing new, sharing images of Hadar’s rifle released in 2022, and a dog tag. Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades commented that “we won’t talk much about this tag; the command of the enemy’s army knows well who this tag belongs to”.
According to Hamas, when Hadar died, the group put his uniform on a dead Palestinian fighter to deceive IDF soldiers into thinking that they had retrieved their brother-in-arm’s body.
Hadar’s mother, Leah, said: “What we get is this kind of manipulation by Hamas. Every year, on August 1, on the day of the kidnapping and murder, we get the same manipulation”.
Leah has campaigned continuously to get her son back. As part of her efforts, she visited the United States alongside President Herzog in July. She has also previously travelled to the Vatican to appeal to the Pope for assistance.
When Hamas released images of Hadar’s gun in December, leader Yahya Sinwar, demanded the release of terrorists rearrested after the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal, as a trade for the body of Hadar as well as Oron Shaul, also captured in 2014. “We will give the occupation a limited time to complete this deal, otherwise we will close the file of the four soldiers forever, and we will find another way to liberate our prisoners, God willing”, said Sinwar. The two others, although deemed as soldiers by Hamas, are civilians Avera Mengistu and Hisham al-Sayed.
In a statement released by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, they said that “the international community must act to end this humanitarian travesty and return both boys to their families so that they can be laid to rest. This is a religious and moral duty”. “The international community should also act to free Israeli citizens, Avera Mengistu and Hisham al- Sayed who are also being held captive by the terrorist organization in Gaza”, they added.
