IDF soldiers completed a three-month-long operation to seal the underground tunnel in which the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin were held captive by Hamas, the military announced on Monday.
The tunnel, stretching 16 kilometers, was sealed with more than 30,000 cubic meters of concrete after IDF troops located its entrance in southern Rafah, near the Philadelphi Corridor, three months ago.
The operation was led by engineering troops from the IDF's Gaza Division, Southern Command, along with Yahalom Combat Engineers, who together worked to seal the tunnel.
The entirety of the tunnel complex included approximately 80 living quarters and served as a Hamas terrorist organization’s command-and-control center.
It was also used by the commander of Hamas’s Rafah Brigade in its military wing to plan and advance terrorist operations.
The tunnel ran beneath a residential neighborhood, mosques, kindergartens, clinics, a school, and a UNRWA clinic.
Who was Hadar Goldin?
Goldin was killed in battle in the Gaza Strip and abducted on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge.
He was returned for burial in Israel as part of the framework for the return of hostages in November 2025.
IDF strikes Hamas infrastructure site in Deir al-Balah
Additionally, on Saturday, the IDF struck a Hamas underground terror infrastructure site in Deir el-Balah, in the Gaza Strip, the military announced on Monday.
The IDF stated that in recent weeks that it had identified Hamas terrorists attempting to restore infrastructure, violating the terms of the current ceasefire agreement.
According to the IDF statement, three targets within the underground infrastructure site were struck in order to dismantle it.