Lebanon Deal to Seek Remains of Jewish Leaders Killed by Hezbollah

Israel is expected to release detainees to Lebanon as part of a new agreement under which Beirut will search for the remains of missing Jews. Prime Minister Netanyahu has directed efforts to locate and return the bodies of Jewish community leaders who were kidnapped and murdered by terrorist organizations in the mid-1980s, an act that severely impacted Lebanon's Jewish population. Hezbollah systematically carried out these abductions and killings between 1984 and 1986.

In August 1984, the community's secretary-general, Selim Murad Jamoos, was abducted near a Beirut synagogue; his body was never found. On March 29, 1985, a wave of kidnappings saw prominent leaders, including community president Isaac Sasson, his deputy Dr. Eli Halak, Eli Srour, Haim Cohen Halala, and Clement Dana, disappear. Professor Isaac Trab and Raul Mizrahi were abducted months later, with Mizrahi's body found ten days after his kidnapping.

The organization Islamic Resistance, a Hezbollah front group, claimed responsibility in November 1985, sending photos of four hostages to a newspaper and accusing them of being Mossad agents. They demanded Israel's full withdrawal from Lebanon and the release of 300 Palestinian prisoners. The Israeli government refused to negotiate, leading Hezbollah to execute the hostages. Haim Cohen Halala was the first murdered, his body found in December 1985, followed by Professor Trab's. In February 1986, Yehuda Banisti and his son were abducted, and the son, a doctor, was tortured, strangled, and shot. Shortly after, Dr. Eli Halak was also murdered.

The bodies of Dr. Halak and other hostages whose fates remain unknown are now expected to be searched for by the Lebanese government under the new agreement. This deal sheds light on a dark period that contributed to the near-extinction of Lebanon's Jewish community, which numbered around 9,000 in the 1960s. By 1975, only about 1,800 Jews remained in Beirut, striving to avoid any connection with Israel amidst the civil war.