IDF Reveals Details of Tunnel Network Where Lt. Hadar Goldin's Body Was Held
Translated & summarized from i24NEWS French by baba
The IDF has revealed details about the extensive tunnel network in Rafah where Lieutenant Hadar Goldin's body was held by Hamas for over eleven years. Goldin was killed in 2014, and his remains were returned to Israel on November 9, 2025. The revealed tunnel system was over ten kilometers long and contained approximately 80 chambers. The IDF conducted numerous clandestine operations over a decade to locate the soldier's remains.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- IDF revealed details of a 10km tunnel network in Rafah where Lt. Hadar Goldin's body was held by Hamas.
- Hadar Goldin was killed in Gaza in 2014, and his body was returned to Israel on November 9, 2025.
- The tunnel network included 80 chambers used as command posts and weapons storage.
- A Hamas member suspected of knowing Goldin's burial location was arrested in July 2025.
- IDF operations to locate Goldin's remains spanned over a decade.
- The tunnel shaft used for Goldin's abduction was destroyed by the IDF after his body's return.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Monday disclosed new intelligence regarding operations to locate the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed in Gaza in 2014. Goldin, 23, died during an engagement in Rafah on August 1, 2014, amid a Hamas-violated ceasefire during Operation Protective Edge. Hamas subsequently held his body for over eleven years before its return to Israel on November 9, 2025.
IDF intelligence revealed that searches led to the discovery of an extensive tunnel network in southern Rafah, where Goldin's body was kept in recent years. This subterranean complex spanned over ten kilometers across three levels, reaching depths of 30 meters. It ran beneath a densely populated residential area near the Philadelphi Corridor, as well as under schools, mosques, clinics, and a UNRWA facility.
Approximately 80 chambers within these tunnels were identified, reportedly used as command posts, weapons storage, and living quarters for senior Hamas officials, including Mohammed Shabana, commander of its Rafah brigade. The IDF also reported that a joint operation in July 2025 by Southern Command, Shin Bet, and military intelligence led to the arrest of Marwan al-Hams, a Hamas member suspected of knowing Goldin's burial location. This arrest was part of over a decade of clandestine operations to find the soldier.
Search efforts intensified during the Gaza war, involving Israeli commandos, the Yahalom engineering unit, and the naval special forces unit Shayetet 13. By late June 2026, the IDF had completed the sealing of a tunnel network exceeding 16 kilometers in the area, using over 30,000 cubic meters of concrete.
Hours after Goldin's remains were returned in November 2025, soldiers from the Nahal Brigade destroyed the tunnel shaft from which he had been abducted eleven years prior. Lieutenant Goldin was ultimately buried in Israel on November 11, 2025, following years of his family's advocacy for his return. These revelations highlight the scale of operations around Rafah and the strategic importance of the tunnel network utilized by Hamas.
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