Overview
- Israeli authorities said undercover forces seized Dr. Marwan al-Hams on July 21 in Khan Younis, identifying him as a Hamas operative with knowledge of Lt. Hadar Goldin’s burial site.
- The IDF described the Rafah network as extending more than seven kilometers to a depth of about 25 meters, with roughly 80 rooms for command functions, weapons storage, and long-term stays.
- According to the army, the tunnel ran beneath a residential area near the Philadelphi Corridor and continued under a UNRWA compound, mosques, clinics, kindergartens, and schools.
- Military statements linked the complex to senior Hamas figures, including Rafah Brigade commander Mohammad Shabaneh.
- Officials said al-Hams’s arrest was one of dozens of classified operations over six months, noting Goldin’s remains were returned earlier this month under a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and that recovery efforts continue.