CNN, Jerusalem :
An Israeli soldier was not captured and killed as initially believed, but died in an attack by a suicide bomber, the military said Sunday.
Israel had initially accused Hamas militants of capturing Lt. Hadar Goldin on Friday as a temporary cease-fire to the conflict in Gaza rapidly unraveled.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel Defense Forces, said later Sunday that Goldin was not captured and killed, but died in a suicide bombing along with two other Israeli soldiers. The IDF said militants in Gaza carried out the suicide attack.
Some of Goldin’s remains were found in and around the Gaza tunnel where the attack took place, Lerner said. He did not provide any more details on the purported suicide bombing.
Goldin, 23, was promoted to lieutenant posthumously.
Speculation about his fate varied wildly after the armed wing of Hamas, the al Qassam Brigades, announced it had lost contact with a group of its fighters in the Rafah area-the same area where Goldin was reportedly taken.
