Israel reveals details of recovering the remains of a missing soldier since the war in Lebanon in 1982
The Israeli military, in cooperation with the Mossad, revealed details of the recovery of the remains of soldier Zvika Feldman, who went missing during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon in 1982.
The Israeli army noted that the body was buried deep within Syrian territory, in a joint statement issued by the Israeli military and Mossad stated that “a secret and precise operation led by the Mossad and the Israeli military resulted in the recovery of the remains of Zvika Feldman, who went missing more than four decades ago… The body was identified after being transferred to Israel through genetic testing conducted by the Military Rabbinate’s Mortuary Identification Center”.
The statement indicated that the operation required years of intelligence efforts and close cooperation between several agencies, including the Prisoners and Missing Persons Affairs Unit in the Prime Minister’s Office, the General Security Service (Shin Bet), the Military Intelligence Service, and special operations teams.
The statement emphasized that “the operation was based on accurate intelligence and complex and skillful operational efforts spanning decades, under difficult security conditions and in areas considered hostile to Israel”.
This operation follows a similar success in 2019, when the body of soldier Zachary Baumel was recovered, as part of a series of missions aimed at returning all missing soldiers to Israel, alive or dead.
The family of soldier Feldman was officially informed of the results of the operation, as was the family of missing soldier Yehuda Katz, who was one of Feldman’s colleagues in the battle.
The statement concluded by affirming the Israeli security establishment’s commitment to continuing its ongoing efforts to recover all missing and captured soldiers, as part of what it described as moral and national responsibility toward its soldiers.
