Tzipora Goldin, grandmother of IDF soldier Hadar Goldin whose body has been held captive in Gaza by Hamas since 2014, passed away on Sunday at 100.
Goldin, who survived the Holocaust in Poland immigrated to Israel with her family who said she became an indispensable part of the fight to return Hadar back from captivity.
Tzur Goldin, Hadar’s brother, said that “she was lucid until the end and took part in every struggle of the family, keeping it together in difficult times.”
“My grandmother was deeply connected to Hadar, who felt the same about her. She was a strong woman who’s been through a lot in her life. It’s a great loss,” he said.
Hamas is holding the remains of Hadar and Shaul Oron also killed in the final hours of the 2014 war, as well as two civilians believed to be alive.
Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid took to Twitter to extend his condolences to the family, writing: “My condolences to the Goldin family for the loss of their grandmother Tzipora, may she rest in peace.”
Hadar Goldin was killed in combat on Friday, August 1, 2014, in Rafah when a terrorist emerged from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip and detonated an explosive device he was wearing near an IDF force, killing another officer and a soldier from Givati Brigade – Major Benaya Sarel and Staff Sergeant Liel Gidoni.