On a somber morning in November 2025, Israeli soldiers gathered in the Gaza Strip to honor the return of Lt. Hadar Goldin’s remains, closing a chapter that had haunted his family and the nation for more than a decade. The ceremony, marked by solemn salutes and a palpable sense of relief, followed an extraordinary series of covert operations and military discoveries that shed light on the labyrinthine world beneath Gaza’s surface—and the lengths both sides have gone to in the ongoing conflict.
According to The Times of Israel, the breakthrough came after months of painstaking intelligence work and high-risk missions by Israeli forces. On July 21, 2025, undercover operatives arrested Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the head of Gaza’s field hospitals and a known Hamas operative, in Khan Younis. Al-Hams, who was apprehended while visiting a Red Cross hospital, had played a critical role in declaring Goldin’s death after his abduction during the 2014 Gaza War. Israeli authorities believed he possessed vital knowledge about the location of Goldin’s burial, deep within a Hamas tunnel in Rafah.
The arrest of al-Hams was not an isolated event. It was one of dozens of covert operations carried out over the previous six months, all aimed at bringing Goldin home. Despite these efforts, it was ultimately Hamas that returned Goldin’s body to Israel in early November 2025, allowing his family to finally lay him to rest. The military’s relentless pursuit, however, unearthed a trove of information about Hamas’s underground operations and the ongoing dangers lurking beneath Gaza’s crowded neighborhoods.
Just days after Goldin’s funeral, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) revealed the results of a major operation in southern Rafah. The elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, supported by naval commandos from Shayetet 13 and troops from the 162nd and Gaza divisions, uncovered what the IDF described as “one of the most significant and complex underground routes exposed to date in the Gaza Strip.” The tunnel network, stretching more than 7 kilometers (about 4.5 miles) and buried some 25 meters (80 feet) underground, was a sprawling labyrinth running beneath a densely populated area near the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border. Its winding passages threaded through sensitive civilian sites, including a UN compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens, and schools.
Inside this subterranean maze, Israeli soldiers discovered approximately 80 rooms, including command centers allegedly used by senior Hamas operatives. Among those named was Muhammad Shabana, the commander of Hamas forces in Rafah, who was reportedly killed earlier in the war. The tunnel also served as a storage site for weapons and a staging ground for attacks on Israeli forces over the past two years, according to the IDF. The operation’s complexity and the tunnel’s proximity to civilian infrastructure underscored the challenges faced by both military planners and humanitarian organizations operating in the region.
The events that led to Goldin’s abduction and the subsequent years-long search for his remains are a stark reminder of the human cost of conflict. Goldin, just 23 at the time of his death, was kidnapped on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge. The day had begun with hope: a 72-hour ceasefire was set to take effect at 8:00 a.m. But the truce quickly unraveled when Hamas fired rockets into southern Israel, followed by two mortar shells. A Givati Brigade reconnaissance unit, commanded by Maj. Benaya Sarel, continued its mission to locate tunnels in the Rafah area. At 9:05 a.m., terrorists emerged from a tunnel and ambushed the unit, killing Goldin, Sarel, and Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni. Goldin’s body was dragged into the tunnel, sparking a desperate and violent response from the IDF.
In the immediate aftermath, the military invoked the Hannibal Directive—a controversial protocol designed to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers at almost any cost. Heavy artillery fire rained down in an attempt to thwart Goldin’s captors, but after 72 hours of intense operations, the army was unable to recover him. The pursuit into the tunnel, led by Lt. Eitan Fund and Second Lt. Matan Horesh, yielded evidence that, together with items later found by Sayeret Matkal and the Eitan Unit, allowed military officials to declare Goldin’s death. For his family, the years that followed were marked by uncertainty and grief, as they fought tirelessly for his return.
The recent discovery of the Rafah tunnel network brought new clarity to the circumstances of Goldin’s captivity and the broader tactics employed by Hamas. The IDF stated, “IDF troops under the Southern Command will continue operating in the Gaza Strip to remove any threat to the civilians of the State of Israel.” The operation’s scope and findings highlighted the ongoing risks posed by such underground complexes—not only as conduits for weapons and fighters but also as potential flashpoints for future escalations.
The destruction of the tunnel shaft from which Goldin was abducted, announced by the IDF’s Nahal Brigade combat team just hours after his burial, was both symbolic and strategic. It marked the end of a long and painful saga for the Goldin family and, in the eyes of many Israelis, served as a warning to those who would use such tactics in the future.
Goldin’s story is one of tragedy and resilience. He is survived by his parents, Simcha and Leah, his sister Ayelet, his brother Chemi, and his twin brother Tzur. Their 11-year struggle to bring him home captured the nation’s attention and highlighted the enduring impact of war on families and communities. The return of his remains, though bittersweet, offered a measure of closure—and a reminder that, amid the ongoing conflict, the search for peace and justice continues.
As the dust settles over Rafah’s ruined tunnels and families mourn their losses, the region braces for what comes next. The lessons of the past decade, etched in the stories of soldiers like Hadar Goldin, will shape the decisions of leaders and the hopes of those yearning for an end to violence. For now, the echoes of this saga linger, a testament to courage, sacrifice, and the unyielding pursuit of answers in the face of uncertainty.
