Israeli army says body of soldier missing for 43 years found in ‘heart of Syria’

The Israeli army said Sunday it had repatriated the body of a soldier missing for more than four decades, after locating the remains in the “heart of Syria” during a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency.

Tzvika Feldman was one of three Israeli soldiers who went missing during the 1982 battle of Sultan Yaacoub against Syrian forces in eastern Lebanon. 

Israel carried out a full-scale invasion of Lebanon that year, at the height of the country’s civil war, reaching Beirut. Its forces continued to occupy southern Lebanon before withdrawing in 2000.

One of the soldiers was returned to Israel six years ago, and with Feldman now brought home, Israeli leaders said efforts would continue to recover the third.

“In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel,” the army said in a statement.

In a separate statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate Feldman’s remains, noting that the search for him and his comrades – Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz – had been ongoing for decades.

“Approximately six years ago, we returned for a Jewish burial, Sgt. First Class Zechariah Baumel; today we have returned Tzvika, of blessed memory,” Netanyahu’s statement said, adding that the prime minister had personally notified Feldman’s parents.

“We will not cease our efforts to return Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who is also an MIA from the same battle.”

The army said that Feldman’s remains had been identified by the Genomic Identification Center for Fallen Soldiers of the Military Rabbinate but gave little detail on how his body was located deep inside Syria.

“The return of Sgt. Feldman was made possible through a complex and covert operation, enabled by precise intelligence and the use of operational capabilities that demonstrated ingenuity and courage,” the statement said.

“This concludes an extensive intelligence and operational effort that spanned more than four decades, involving close cooperation between the POW/MIA Coordinators in the Prime Minister’s Office, intelligence and operational units within the Mossad and IDF Intelligence Directorate, along with the Shin Bet and the IDF Human Resources Directorate,” the army said.

Israeli forces crossed from the occupied Golan Heights into Syria following the ouster of the Assad regime in December, marking the first incursion since the 1974 Agreement of Disengagement. Since then, Israel has continued its incursions and landgrabs in the Quneitra province, and currently occupies the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.