During the 11 years that passed since Operation Protective Edge, the location of the remains of Lt. Hadar Goldin, H’yd—who was killed and abducted in Rafah—was one of the most closely guarded secrets of Hamas’s military wing.

Army Radio reported on Monday morning that the number of senior Hamas figures entrusted with the secret was fewer than 10. However, after the October 7 massacre and the ensuing war, the number dwindled to five, as top Hamas military figures, including Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Rafah Brigade Commander Mohammed Shabaneh, were eliminated.

As the war continued, the IDF deliberately refrained from eliminating the remaining terrorists who knew the secret of Goldin’s location in Rafah, classifying them as “assets.”

The report added that the IDF had two separate opportunities to eliminate Rafah Brigade Commander Mohammed Shabaneh—but because those “assets” surrounded him, the IDF refrained from doing so so as not to endanger the chances of returning Goldin to Israel. Ultimately, the IDF eliminated him when he was found in a tunnel with Mohammed Sinwar in Khan Younis, with the “assets” no longer surrounding him.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)