IDF reveals 10 km Rafah tunnel where Hamas held Hadar Goldin's remains, one year after his return

The IDF on Monday released new details of the operations that led to the return of Lt. Hadar Goldin's remains to Israel, a year after he was brought home, and more than 11 years after he was killed and abducted by Hamas.The new information revealed by the military includes details on the 10-kilometer-long tunnel where the terror group kept Goldin's remains, as well as new information on the operations to bring him back.Goldin was killed during a battle in Rafah, Gaza, on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, when Hamas violated a ceasefire, and his body was taken by the terrorist group.

He left behind his parents, a sister, two brothers, and his fiancée.His remains were returned on November 9, 2025, and he was laid to rest two days later. According to the IDF, the long effort to recover him contributed significantly to the defeat of Hamas's Rafah Brigade and to the military's achievements across the area.How the IDF located Hadar Goldin's remainsIn July 2025, during a special operation by Southern Command forces and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), guided by Military Intelligence, troops arrested Hamas operative Marwan al-Hams, who was suspected of knowing where Goldin was buried in Rafah's “Dror Lavan” tunnel.Archival footage from within the underground network (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)The IDF said the arrest was one of dozens of covert operations carried out over the years as part of a broad effort by the military and the Shin Bet to return him for burial.In a separate Southern Command operation, soldiers from the Commando Brigade, the Yahalom combat engineering unit and the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit uncovered the underground route in southern Rafah where Goldin was held in the final years before his return.

The route stretches for more than 10 kilometers and has three levels, the deepest of which lies 30 meters underground. It runs beneath a densely populated residential neighborhood near the Philadelphi Corridor and continues through sensitive civilian areas, including a UNRWA compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens and schools, the IDF said.Troops found about 80 rooms inside, including command rooms used by senior Hamas commanders to store weapons, stay for long periods, and plan attacks against Israeli forces.

Among them was Rafah Brigade commander Mohammed Shabana.Archival footage of operations by Shayetet 13 and Yahalom forces within the underground network (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)IDF seals tunnel with 30,000 cubic meters of concreteAt the end of June 2026, Yahalom and Shayetet 13 forces finished sealing the route, which the IDF said was more than 16 kilometers long, using more than 30,000 cubic meters of concrete.In November 2025, just hours after Goldin's return, a Nahal Brigade combat team destroyed the shaft through which he had been abducted 11 years earlier.Archival footage of combat involving soldiers from the Commando Brigade in the area of ​​the underground network. (Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)After the National Center of Forensic Medicine completed the identification process, together with the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate, IDF representatives informed Goldin's family that he had been returned for burial.

The effort combined extensive intelligence work with ground operations led by the IDF and the Shin Bet, and spanned the past decade, intensifying during the war, the military said.