IDF Finds Complex Network Of Hamas Tunnels In Gaza: 25 Metres Deep, 7 Km Long

Last Updated:November 21, 2025, 09:57 IST

IDF uncovered a vast Hamas tunnel in Rafah where Lieutenant Hadar Goldin's body was held.

News18

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have uncovered a vast Hamas tunnel complex in the Gaza Strip where the body of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was secretly held for years. Goldin, an IDF officer, was killed during an ambush in the 2014 Israel–Hamas war. Israel recovered his remains earlier this month after a series of covert operations.

In a video released Thursday on X, the IDF showed footage of the tunnel system beneath a densely populated neighbourhood in Rafah. According to the military, the route cuts through a UNRWA compound as well as mosques, clinics, and kindergartens. The network was reportedly used by Hamas commanders for storing weapons, planning attacks, and taking shelter for extended periods.

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A 7-Kilometre Tunnel With 80 Rooms

The IDF said the structure stretches more than seven kilometres, plunges 25 metres underground, and contains around 80 rooms. It was uncovered by the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit working alongside the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit.

Inside, troops found command centres used by senior Hamas figures, including Muhammad Shabana, who was killed in May along with Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar.

Hamas Member Linked to Goldin’s Death Arrested

In a separate statement, the IDF announced the arrest of Marwan Al-Hams, described as “a Hamas terrorist involved in determining Lt. Hadar Goldin’s death." The military said he was believed to know the exact location of Goldin’s burial in what it calls the “White-Crowned" tunnel in Rafah.

The IDF added that the July 2025 operation was one of “dozens of confidential missions" carried out over the past six months to retrieve Goldin’s remains and bring him home for burial.

Who Was Lt Hadar Goldin?

Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, a 23-year-old officer in the IDF’s Givati Brigade, became one of the most emblematic figures of the 2014 Gaza war. Killed during a Hamas ambush in Rafah on August 1, 2014 a day that was supposed to fall under a humanitarian ceasefire Goldin was dragged into a tunnel, and his body was held captive for over a decade. His disappearance triggered one of the IDF’s most forceful rescue doctrines, and his family’s long, public campaign kept his case at the centre of Israel’s national consciousness.

For years, Hamas refused to return his remains, turning Goldin into a symbol of Israel’s unresolved conflicts and the deep human cost of the war. The recovery of his body in 2025, after a series of covert IDF operations, closes a painful chapter for his family and the country and underscores why Israel continues to hunt for Hamas tunnel networks embedded beneath civilian areas in Gaza.

News world IDF Finds Complex Network Of Hamas Tunnels In Gaza: 25 Metres Deep, 7 Km Long

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