Return of a Soldier Missing for 44 Years
The remains of Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, an IDF soldier who went missing during the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub, were returned to Israel on Tuesday, the military announced. The return brings closure to a 44-year search and was hailed by Israeli leaders as a fulfillment of the country's commitment to bring back every missing or fallen soldier.
Katz was 23 years old when he was declared missing in June 1982, at the start of the First Lebanon War. The battle, a skirmish between Israeli and Syrian forces in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, claimed the lives of 21 Israeli servicemen and injured more than 30. Katz, a tank soldier, went missing along with Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman. For decades, the three were known as the "Sultan Yacoub III."
Baumel's remains were recovered with Russian assistance and returned to Israel in 2019, and Feldman's remains were recovered by Mossad agents in May 2025. With Katz's return, all three missing soldiers from the battle have now been accounted for.
The Operation and Identification
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that in a special operation led by the Military Intelligence Directorate, in coordination with the Mossad spy agency, Katz's bones were located and brought to Israel for burial. No details were given on where they were found. The operation was based on intelligence obtained in recent months, according to the military. The IDF added that the finding was made possible due to a "series of intelligence and operational activities that continued for more than four decades, since he fell in battle."
Earlier on Tuesday, the IDF said that personal findings belonging to Katz were brought back to Israel during the operation and given to his family for inspection. Katz's bones were taken for identification and confirmed on Tuesday evening to belong to the slain soldier.
The military said Katz's family was updated over the years regarding the ongoing efforts to locate his remains and return them to Israel.
Official Reactions
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir praised the return, saying, "The return of Yehuda Katz, the last fallen soldier from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, is a significant moment for the IDF and for the State of Israel." He also said, "We will leave none of our people behind."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Missing Persons Directorate for their "determined and courageous work" to return Katz's remains. President Isaac Herzog said the operation marked an end to "44 years of waiting, pain and longing," noting that he had long kept a photo of Katz in his office. Defense Minister Israel Katz thanked "all the members of the defense establishment and the intelligence community, past and present" for their efforts.
There was no immediate statement from Katz's family. Rabbi Baruch Vider, who fought at Sultan Yacoub, praised Katz as "a brilliant boy, a prodigy, humble, with great virtues."
A Nation's Commitment
The return of Katz's remains comes amid ongoing national efforts to recover missing soldiers and hostages. In a reflection on the country's history, the Jerusalem Post noted that Katz's parents, Sarah and Yosef, did not live to receive the news of the return of their loved one. The outlet also referenced other unresolved cases, such as Ron Arad, an Israel Air Force navigator missing since 1986, Eli Cohen, executed in Damascus in 1965, and Guy Hever, who disappeared on the Golan Heights in 1997. About 170 soldiers from the beginning of the state have unknown burial places.
Recent successes include the identification of Pvt. Ya'akov Zrihan, killed during the 1948 War of Independence, whose remains were found in a mass grave in Kiryat Anavim last month, and Shlomo Haimson, whose burial place was located after almost 78 years. The ongoing efforts reflect a deep-seated national obligation to bring closure to families, even decades after the loss.