IDF Details Tunnel Operations That Returned Hadar Goldin's Remains

The Israel Defense Forces disclosed new operational details on Monday regarding the recovery of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin’s remains. The release occurred one year after his body was returned to Israel and more than 11 years after he was killed and abducted. The military outlined the physical dimensions of the tunnel system where his remains were stored and described the specific units tasked with uncovering the site.

Goldin died in battle in Rafah, Gaza, on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge. His body was taken by Hamas after the group violated a ceasefire. He left behind his parents, a sister, two brothers, and his fiancée. His remains arrived in Israel on November 9, 2025, and he was buried two days later. The IDF stated that the long effort to recover him aided in the defeat of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade.

In July 2025, Southern Command forces and the Shin Bet arrested Hamas operative Marwan al-Hams in a special operation. Military Intelligence guided the team, which suspected al-Hams knew where Goldin was buried in the “Dror Lavan” tunnel. The military described the arrest as one of many covert actions conducted over several years to locate the body.

Separate operations by the Commando Brigade, the Yahalom combat engineering unit, and Shayetet 13 naval commandos uncovered the underground route in southern Rafah. The tunnel stretches for more than 10 kilometers and features three levels, with the deepest point located 30 meters below the surface. The route runs beneath a densely populated residential neighborhood near the Philadelphi Corridor. It also passes through civilian areas, including a UNRWA compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens, and schools.

Troops discovered approximately 80 rooms inside the tunnel network. These included command rooms used by senior Hamas leaders to store weapons and plan attacks. Mohammed Shabana, the commander of the Rafah Brigade, was among those who used the facility. In November 2025, hours after Goldin’s return, a Nahal Brigade combat team destroyed the specific shaft through which he had been abducted 11 years earlier.

By the end of June 2026, Yahalom and Shayetet 13 forces completed the sealing of the route. The IDF stated the sealed section was more than 16 kilometers long and required over 30,000 cubic meters of concrete. The National Center of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police, and the Military Rabbinate handled the identification process before the military informed Goldin’s family of the return. The combined intelligence and ground operations spanned the past decade and intensified during the recent war.