Coffin carrying human remains handed over to Israel via the International Committee of the Red Cross.By World Israel News StaffThe remains of Hadar Goldin, an IDF soldier killed during the 2014 Gaza war and held captive by Hamas for over a decade, were returned to Israel Sunday afternoon, Hamas claimed.Hamas teams operating inside IDF-held territory in southern Gaza located Goldin’s remains in a terror tunnel underneath the city of Rafah on Saturday, a spokesperson for the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, Sunday morning.“As part of the Al Aqsa Flood prisoner exchange deal, the al-Qassam Brigades will hand over the body of Hadar Goldin, which was found yesterday afternoon in a tunnel in the Yebna camp in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, at 2 PM Gaza time.”On Saturday, Al Jazeera published footage of a body, purportedly belonging to Goldin, after its recovery from Rafah.A coffin carrying human remains was transferred to the International Committee of the Red Cross, before being handed over to the Israeli military.Once the remains reach Israel, they will undergo forensic examinations to verify the body’s identity.If the remains are positively identified as belonging to Goldin, the bodies of four hostages will still remain unaccounted for, despite Hamas’ obligation to transfer all hostages to Israel by October 13th.Nevertheless, the al-Qassam Brigades denied Sunday morning that it has failed to adhere to its obligations under the US-backed Gaza peace plan.“The process of recovering bodies during the past phase took place under complex and extremely difficult circumstances,” Hamas’ armed wing said.“Despite this, we adhered to our obligations under the agreement. We emphasize that recovering the remaining bodies requires additional teams and technical equipment.”The terror group also confirmed Sunday that a number of terrorists from the organization are trapped in terror tunnels underneath Rafah.“The occupation bears full responsibility for the clashes with our fighters in Rafah, who are defending themselves within an area under its control. Let the enemy know that the principle of surrender and submission to the enemy does not exist in the Qassam Brigades’ lexicon.”There are approximately 200 Hamas terrorists trapped in tunnels in the Rafah area, cut off from Hamas-controlled territory.While Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz (Likud) has vowed that the IDF will eliminate all terrorists found on the Israeli side of the Yellow Line in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly considered a plan to grant the terrorists safe passage to Hamas-controlled territory, on condition they disarm and hand over Goldin’s remains.It is unclear whether the planned return of Goldin’s body on Sunday was linked to safe passage for the terrorists holed up in Rafah.The post IDF soldier Hadar Goldin, held since 2014, returned to Israel, Hamas claims appeared first on World Israel News.