Overview
- The Israel Defense Forces announced Monday that its troops completed a three-month operation to permanently seal a tunnel complex in southern Rafah where Lt. Hadar Goldin was held after his 2014 abduction.
- The tunnel system stretches more than 16 kilometers and the IDF said engineers filled it using more than 30,000 cubic meters of concrete to render the passages unusable.
- The work involved specialized units from the IDF Southern Command, the Gaza Division, the Yahalom combat engineering unit and Shayetet 13 naval commandos who located and closed the complex.
- The IDF says the tunnel contained about 80 living quarters and ran beneath dense civilian sites near the Philadelphi Corridor, including homes, mosques, schools, clinics and a UNRWA facility, a claim that highlights Israel's assertion that Hamas embeds military assets under civilian areas; Goldin's remains were returned to Israel in November 2025 under a hostages/remains framework.
- Israeli officials framed the sealing as a tactical milestone in a long-term campaign to dismantle Hamas' subterranean capabilities rather than a final solution, and the move could limit the group's ability to command operations from under populated neighborhoods.