Dramatic development: The IDF this morning (Tuesday) informed the family of fallen Yehuda Katz, the last missing person from the Battle of Sultan Ya'qub in 1982, that the soldier's bones had been found.
Katz was the last soldier to be declared missing from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, which took place in 1982.
Rabbi Eli Ben Dahan, a former deputy defense minister who participated in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, responded with excitement: "I feel chills this morning. The circle of the great effort to save the armored battalion that was caught in a Syrian ambush has closed. No one is left behind. The eternal people are not afraid of a long journey.".
The discovery of the remains brings to an end a long-standing intelligence and military saga. In 2019, the body of the missing Zechariah Baumel was returned to Israel through Russian mediation.
In 2025, the body of Zvi Feldman was returned in a special and secret operation by the Mossad.
Katz, Baumel and Feldman were declared missing after the end of the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, which took place on June 11, 1982, at a crossroads south of the village of Sultan Yacoub in the Bekaa, Lebanon, during the 'Peace of Galilee' War.
The families of the three made great efforts over many years to find out what happened to the three boys.
The Battle of Sultan Yacoub is considered one of the most difficult and complex battles in the history of the IDF. The Israeli forces, sent to take control of a strategic junction near the village of Sultan Yacoub, were ambushed by Syrian forces, and during the fighting they also faced operational confusion and two-sided fire.
At the end of the battle, 20 IDF soldiers were killed, dozens were injured, and six soldiers were declared missing. Over the years, the fate of three of them became clear - Zohar Lifshitz, who was killed and his body was returned after the war, Arik Lieberman, who was released from Syrian captivity, and Hazi Shai, who was released as part of the Jibril deal. The three remaining missing - Baumel, Feldman, and Katz - became symbols of Israel's efforts to return its missing persons.
The discovery of the remains of Yehuda Katz ends a painful chapter that lasted 44 years, and represents a closing of a circle for his family and for the State of Israel, which has continued over the years with intelligence and operational efforts to return all missing in action.
