A police-escorted convoy transported the remains of a hostage in Gaza that Hamas says are of an Israeli soldier who was killed in 2014 to Tel Aviv's forensic institute on Sunday.

Dozens of people gathered along intersections where the police convoy carried the remains, holding Israeli flags and paying last respects.

Hamas said that it found the remains of Hadar Goldin in a tunnel in the southernmost city of Rafah on Saturday.

Goldin, who was 23, was killed on August 1, 2014, two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that year’s war between Israel and Hamas.

"After 11 years, hopefully , really hopefully there's not some propaganda, and we've actually got our friend, our teammate from the army who's come back to be buried in Israel," said Hanini Cormey, who served alongside Goldin in the military.

Goldin's family led a public campaign, along with the family of another soldier whose body was taken in 2014, to bring their sons home for burial.

Israel recovered the remains of the another soldier, Oron Shaul, earlier this year.

If confirmed, the return of the remains of Goldin, who has become a national symbol, would be a significant development in the U.S.-brokered truce, which has faltered during the slow return of bodies of hostages and skirmishes between Israeli troops and militants in Gaza.

It would also close a painful saga for his family.

If the remains are identified as Goldin's, those of four hostages will still be in Gaza.

AP Video by Moshe Edri