What spurred Hamas to announce the return of the remains of Hadar Goldin, H’yd, late Sunday morning?

Kan News reported that after hours passed without any indication of when Goldin will be returned to Israel following the Al Jazeera report on Shabbos on Hamas’s discovery of his remains, Israel turned to the US mediators overnight Motzei Shabbos and demanded their involvement.

According to the report, Israel made it clear that it will not accept any conditions or delays in the transfer of the remains. The return of Goldin, who was killed in Operation Protective Edge 11 years ago, and his body was abducted to Gaza, was part of the original ceasefire agreement, which Hamas has repeatedly violated.

A source familiar with the details said that during the night, Hamas sent a message to the mediators that the delay was due to “technical issues” and that the coffin would be transferred to Israel within the next 24 hours, as Hamas indeed announced late Sunday morning.

Kan News reported earlier on Sunday that Israeli officials feared that Hamas intended to carry out separate negotiations for the return of Goldin’s remains in return for the release of 200 Hamas terrorists trapped inside a tunnel in an area under IDF control in Rafah.

“There is no negotiation right now,” an Israeli official said. “There is an agreement, and Hamas must uphold it.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)