Eleven years, three months and eight days passed between the death and abduction of Lt. Hadar Goldin in Rafah and the return of his remains to Israel for burial. Today (Monday), marking the first anniversary of his return on November 9, 2025, details are being revealed of the intelligence and operational effort that led to the discovery of the site where his remains were held, exposed an extensive Hamas tunnel network and ultimately destroyed the underground infrastructure connected to his abduction.
The effort to locate Goldin continued for years, involving the IDF and the Shin Bet, until a breakthrough in the summer of 2025, following the arrest of a terrorist suspected of holding information about his burial site.
Goldin was killed on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, when a ceasefire was violated in Rafah. Following his death, Hamas terrorists abducted his body and held it in the Gaza Strip for more than 11 years.
Over the years, intelligence and security agencies worked to piece together the circumstances of the abduction and determine the location of his remains. The effort involved extensive intelligence gathering and operational activity in the Rafah area, which also exposed infrastructure used by Hamas's Rafah Brigade.
A major breakthrough came in July 2025, when Southern Command forces and the Shin Bet, acting on intelligence provided by the Military Intelligence Directorate, conducted a special operation in which Marwan al-Hams was arrested.
Al-Hams was suspected of possessing information about the location where Goldin had been buried inside a tunnel network known as "White Sparrow." His arrest marked a significant step in the effort to locate the fallen soldier's remains and bring them home.
Following the intelligence breakthrough, troops from the Commando Brigade, the Yahalom combat engineering unit and the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit operated in southern Rafah, uncovering the underground route where Goldin's remains had been held for years.
The forces discovered an extensive tunnel network stretching more than 10 kilometers at the time of its discovery. The system had three levels, with the deepest reaching approximately 30 meters underground, near the Philadelphi Corridor.
The tunnels ran beneath densely populated residential neighborhoods and civilian buildings, including an UNRWA compound, schools, clinics and mosques.
During searches, troops located approximately 80 rooms used as living quarters and command centers. According to the findings, senior Hamas operatives had used the facilities to plan attacks and store weapons.
The operations along the underground route formed part of the broader military campaign against Hamas's Rafah Brigade, exposing a network of infrastructure extending far beyond the specific location where Goldin's remains had been held.
On November 9, 2025, after more than 11 years, Goldin's remains were returned to Israel. An identification process was subsequently carried out with the participation of the National Center of Forensic Medicine, the Israel Police and the Military Rabbinate.
Once the identification was completed, the Goldin family was formally notified. Two days later, on November 11, Lt. Hadar Goldin was laid to rest in Israel.
Military operations in the area continued even after his return. Just hours after his remains were brought back to Israel, the Nahal Brigade combat team destroyed the shaft through which his body had been abducted during the 2014 battle in Rafah.
The shaft was destroyed on the very day his remains were returned, eliminating the specific infrastructure used in his abduction more than 11 years earlier.
The broader operation to neutralize the tunnel network continued. In late June 2026, Yahalom and Shayetet 13 forces, operating under Southern Command, completed an extensive engineering operation to seal the "White Sparrow" tunnel network.
During the operation, it emerged that the system extended for more than 16 kilometers in total. To destroy the underground infrastructure, the forces pumped more than 30,000 cubic meters of concrete into the tunnels.
The operation fully neutralized the tunnel complex where Goldin's remains had been held for many years. It was completed in late June 2026, approximately seven months after his remains were returned to Israel for burial.
Fix the timeline and opening dateClarify the tunnel network measurements