The Slatest

IDF Soldier Thought Captured Is Declared Dead

Hadar Goldin’s family on Saturday.

Nir Elias/Reuters

The Israel Defense Forces have announced that they now believe Hadar Goldin, the soldier thought to have been captured in Gaza, died during fighting on Friday. Per Haaretz, Hamas says that Goldin was likely killed in an IDF strike, though Israel has not confirmed this. From the New York Times:

…a military spokeswoman declined to say whether Lieutenant Goldin had been killed along with two comrades by a suicide bomb one of the militants exploded, or later by Israel’s assault on the area to hunt for him; she also refused to answer whether remains had been recovered.

Israel is pulling some of its forces back from Gaza, unilaterally de-escalating the ongoing conflict despite the lack of a cease-fire agreement, and the Times writes that some residents of northern Gaza have been informed that it is safe to return to their homes.

Read more of Slate’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict.