Lt. Hadar Goldin's sister told KAN Reshet Bet that this is the first Remembrance Day that the family feels it can mark, given his remains were returned from Gaza after over 11 years in captivity.
Fallen soldier Lt. Hadar Goldin's sister, Ayelet, said that this is the first Remembrance Day that the family can function as a bereaved family, in an interview with KAN Reshet Bet on Tuesday morning.
Goldin was killed along with two other soldiers while searching for terror tunnels in Rafah during 2014's Operation Protective Edge. His remains were held captive by Hamas terrorists until being located and returned in November 2025.
All the emotions Ayelet Goldin-Kaufman is feeling are "mixed and very powerful," she said.
"Most of all, I have to say that there is a feeling of great exaltation and excitement," that Hadar's remains have been returned and buried, Goldin-Kaufman told the radio station.
"For so many years we have been different, we would stand there on Remembrance Day and not know where my brother was... now that he is here, the intensity is strong," she added.
Sister of fallen soldier finds it difficult to put into words the finality of his burial after over 11 years as captive in Gaza
She said that she still finds it difficult to put into words the finality of Hadar's remains returning for burial.
"Today, when he is here, we and his friends, and everyone who was part of the military, feel this sense of excitement. It really intensifies for me in terms of gratitude for good people," she said.
She became a grandmother three months ago, noting that the newborn is the son of her eldest child, who, like his uncle Hadar, served in the Givati Brigade's Reconnaissance Battalion.
"Life goes on, and Hadar lives by our side, albeit from above. He doesn't answer when we talk to him, but he lives with us, and he is definitely here," she concluded.