Israel says body of soldier missing for 43 years recovered by Mossad from Syria

Operation to repatriate remains from deep inside Syrian territory carried out by army and intelligence agency

The remains of Tzvika Feldman were found in Syria. Photo: Israel Government Press Office

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The Israeli army said on Sunday that the body of a soldier missing for 43 years had been found in Syria and repatriated in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency.

“The body of Sergeant First Class Tzvika Feldman was located in the heart of Syria and returned to Israel,” the military said.

The army said Sgt Feldman went missing along with two other soldiers in the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub that pitted Israeli and Syrian troops against each other in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria.

The army gave few details of how his remains were located deep inside the country, but the operation is evidence of Israel pushing the boundaries in its interventions in Syria.

The army said 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.

“This concludes an extensive intelligence and operational effort that spanned more than four decades,” it added.

“Following the recovery, the body was identified at the Military Rabbinate's Genomic Centre for Identifying Fallen Soldiers, and the family was notified by the IDF in the presence of the Prime Minister.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate the body, saying the search for Sgt Feldman and two others – Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz – had been continuing for decades.

“For many long years, I have authorised numerous covert operations to locate the missing from Sultan Yaaqoub, and I promised the Feldman family that I would never stop working to bring their son home,” Mr Netanyahu said.

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

Cases of soldiers missing for decades have a powerful emotional and political resonance in Israel, where military service is compulsory for most Jewish men.