The IDF on Wednesday afternoon clarified an earlier report that there is no evidence that Hamas is holding the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin — an IDF officer killed and abducted by Hamas during the 2014 Gaza War — inside a fortified tunnel complex beneath Rafah, along with roughly 150 Hamas operatives who have refused to surrender.

The IDF says that “these are false claims that cause harm to the family”.

The reports earlier Wednesday stated that there is a sensitive standoff at the highest levels of Israeli and U.S. leadership, as Washington reportedly presses Jerusalem to allow safe passage for the terrorists as part of efforts to advance President Trump’s emerging Gaza ceasefire framework.

According to defense sources, the terrorists are trapped in the Jenina neighborhood of southern Rafah, an area now under IDF control. The army has deliberately avoided striking or collapsing the specific tunnel suspected of concealing Goldin’s remains, fearing his body could be lost or destroyed.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has recommended that any deal to permit the Hamas operatives’ evacuation be conditioned on the immediate return of Goldin’s body — a position reportedly conveyed to Israel’s political leadership earlier this week.

But Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected such an arrangement outright, declaring that Israel “will not allow safe passage to murderers who are still holding our fallen son hostage.”

The case of Lt. Goldin, killed during a ceasefire violation in 2014, remains one of Israel’s most emotionally charged symbols of Hamas’s brutality. His family has repeatedly demanded that the government use all military and diplomatic leverage to bring his remains home before any truce with Hamas is finalized.

With U.S. negotiators seeking to move forward on Trump’s ceasefire proposal — which includes phased IDF withdrawals and the establishment of a multinational stabilization force — the Rafah standoff has become a flashpoint. Israeli officials warn that yielding to international pressure could embolden Hamas and weaken Israel’s hand in future negotiations.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)