IDF uncovers 7 km.-long Gaza terror tunnel where Hamas held Hadar Goldin

The route runs beneath a dense residential area near the Philadelphi Corridor and continues under sensitive civilian sites, including a UNRWA compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens, and schools.

The IDF on Thursday uncovered an underground tunnel route more than 7 kilometers long and around 25 meters deep in Rafah, Gaza, where the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin were held by Hamas.

The route runs beneath a dense residential area near the Philadelphi Corridor and continues under sensitive civilian sites, including a UNRWA compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens, and schools, the IDF said.

Inside, troops located roughly 80 hideouts and command-and-control rooms that senior Hamas operatives used to store weapons, live long term, and plan attacks.

Among the senior Hamas figures who used the complex was Mohammad Shabaneh, commander of the Rafah Brigade, the IDF stated.

IDF soldiers seen operating in the vicinity of the tunnel in which Hadar Goldin was kept, November 20, 2025 (IDF SPOKESPERSON’S UNIT)

Gaza terror tunnel used to kidnap Hadar Goldin destroyed

The IDF’s Nahal Brigade destroyed the tunnel used by Hamas terrorists to kidnap Goldin during Operation Protective Edge in August 2014 earlier this month.

Goldin was killed and kidnapped by terrorists while attempting to dismantle a terror tunnel during a supposed ceasefire.

He was held in Gaza for 4,118 days and returned on November 9, 2025.