2 ministers belatedly say they’ll attend service for soldier slain in Gaza

Family of Hadar Goldin, whose remains are believed held by Hamas, earlier slammed state for not promising to send a representative to memorial event

By ToI Staff 8 August 2016, 8:23 pm

Edit

Soldiers from the Givati Brigade attend the funeral of Lt. Hadar Goldin at the Kfar Saba cemetery on August 3, 2014. (Oded Balilty/AP Photo)

Two ministers said they would attend a memorial service for an IDF soldier killed in Gaza two years ago and whose body is apparently being held by Hamas, following criticism from his family over the government’s failure to send a representative to the ceremony.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Minister without Portfolio Tzachi Hanegbi said Monday afternoon that they would take part in the memorial event for Lt. Hadar Goldin at Kfar Saba military cemetery on Tuesday. They will join Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben Dahan, who announced earlier in Monday that he would be attending.

The announcements came after the Goldin family made a public appeal for people to attend the service, and slammed the lack of official response to the event.

“It is disappointing that no government ministers could find time to pay their respects to Hadar and to us by attending this memorial,” said a statement issued by the family.

IDF soldiers Oron Shaul (left) and Hadar Goldin (right) (Flash90)

The family asked for public to turn out so as to “show Hadar that he has not been forgotten in Rafah [the Gaza city in which Goldin fell].”

Parents of late Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin at a protest tent outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90) — Parents of late Israeli soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin at a protest tent outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem, June 27, 2016. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Goldin was killed in a Hamas ambush that took place an hour and a half into a humanitarian cease-fire, and his body was taken from the scene via a Hamas tunnel. The incident sparked a major bombardment of Rafah and the surrounding area as troops sought to track Goldin down.

For two days, it was unclear whether Goldin was alive or dead but DNA tests conducted by the army proved that Goldin was killed in the operation. His body is still missing, and believed to be held by Hamas.

Goldin’s family, along with that of First Sergeant Oron Shaul, whose remains are also believed to be held by Hamas, have protested Israel’s recent agreement with Turkey, which allows Turkish aid to reach Gaza without requiring that Hamas returns the two soldiers’ remains.