Video: The Goldin family marches from the home of Prime Minister Yair Lapid to the office of Defense Minister Benny Gantz at the Kirya in Tel Aviv calling for the return of soldiers and civilians left behind in Gaza, October 11, 2022 (Headquarters of the struggle to return the boys)
On Sunday, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades operative Yusuf Massoud, brother of the commander of the squad that abducted Hadar Goldin, was released to Gaza. Massoud was imprisoned in an Israeli prison for 19 and a half years. He was detained at the Abu Holi checkpoint in the southern Gaza Strip in 2003 and convicted of firing rockets at Gush Katif communities (prior to the disengagement) and terrorist activity. When he arrived in Gaza, Massoud was received with royal honors.
Massoud had two brothers killed in terrorist attacks, also operatives of Hamas' military-terrorist wing. One of them, Hussein Massoud, was killed while trying to rescue other Hamas operatives from a tunnel that collapsed in the Tafah neighborhood of Gaza City. Walid Massoud, the other brother, was killed in August 2014, on what was then called "Black Friday in Rafah," the day Goldin's abduction took place, followed by the massive IDF attack that led to dozens of Palestinian deaths in Rafah.
The brother of the squad commander who abducted Hadar Goldin was released to Gaza. June 4, 2023 (Photo: documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law)
Yusuf Massoud upon his return to Gaza, June 4, 2023 (Photo: documentation on social networks according to section 27A of the Copyright Law)
Walid served as the head of the squad that abducted the body of Goldin, a staff officer in the Givati Patrol, during Operation Protective Edge. Goldin fell during an activity to locate tunnels in the Rafah area. Walid Massoud was also killed in the incident itself. The Palestinians report that IDF forces took Massoud's body from the scene, because they initially thought it was Goldin's body (apparently he was dressed in IDF uniform to confuse the soldiers). Walid's body is still in Israeli hands.
IDF officer who fell in Operation Protective Edge Hadar Goldin (Photo courtesy of the family)
In December 2022, Hamas presented a Tabor rifle that allegedly belonged to the IDF, claiming that it was a weapon used by Hadar Goldin. Members of the organization also presented the serial number of the weapon - 42852351. In response, his brother, Tzur Goldin, criticized Israel's conduct regarding the release of his brother's body. Goldin said, "No one has spoken to us until now, they haven't bothered to update us, we are still being interviewed, and this reflects the attitude and attitude towards the families of prisoners in the State of Israel. It's no longer so clear who the enemy is, whether it's the families or if it's a terrorist organization holding a captured soldier who fought on the front lines in Operation Protective Edge."
The brother added: "Hamas is the one that defines the prices, it defines the language, and we play into its hands. Hamas creates two equations: either we pay a heavy price, we release terrorists, or we destroy a supreme value and an interest that if it disappears, our society will be destroyed, and this is a mutual guarantee. There is a supreme value in not leaving a soldier behind. If you want to replace that value, you'll lose it, but there's a supreme value."
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