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IDF Seals Tunnel Where Lt. Hadar Goldin Was Held, Destroying More Than 10 Miles of Underground Route
The IDF says it has completed sealing the tunnel in southern Rafah where Lt. Hadar Goldin הי"ד was held. The route, stretching more than 16 kilometers, also served as a major Hamas command center in the southern Gaza Strip.
- יובל אביב
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(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)(Photo: IDF Spokesperson)
The IDF announced today (Monday) that engineering forces from the Gaza Division and Southern Command have completed sealing the underground route where Lt. Hadar Goldin הי"ד was held. Goldin fell in battle in the Gaza Strip and was kidnapped on August 1, 2014, during Operation "Protective Edge." According to the IDF, this was one of the largest engineering projects the military has carried out in Gaza in recent months, after forces spent the past three months working to seal the tunnel, which stretches for more than 16 kilometers.
According to the IDF Spokesperson's announcement, the operation was made possible by the ongoing operational activity of IDF forces in the Gaza Strip. As part of the mission, Southern Command forces worked together with fighters from the elite *Yahalom* unit and Shayetet 13, who uncovered in southern Rafah the underground route where Goldin had been held over recent years. After it was exposed, the forces launched a lengthy engineering operation, during which the tunnel was sealed using more than 30,000 cubic meters of concrete. Now, with the work complete, the IDF says the mission to seal the route has been finished.
According to the IDF, the route was not used only as the place where Goldin הי"ד was held, but also served as a significant hub of activity for the Hamas terror organization. The tunnel included about 80 rooms for extended stays and functioned as one of the organization's command-and-control centers. The IDF also said it was used by the Rafah Brigade commander in Hamas's military wing to advance terror plans.
The IDF statement also says the underground infrastructure was built near the Philadelphi Corridor and ran beneath a densely populated civilian area. Among other places, it stretched under a residential neighborhood, mosques, kindergartens, clinics, a school, and also beneath a UNRWA clinic.
פעילות יחידת יהל״ם להשמדת התוואי התת-קרקעי (צילום: דובר צה״ל)
פעילות יחידת יהל״ם להשמדת התוואי התת-קרקעי (צילום: דובר צה״ל)
פעילות יחידת יהל״ם להשמדת התוואי התת-קרקעי (צילום: דובר צה״ל)
