IDF Locates Remains of Yehuda Katz, Last Missing Soldier from 1982 Sultan Yaakov Battle

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) informed the family of Staff Sergeant Yehuda Katz that his remains have been found, closing the case of the last missing soldier from the Sultan Yaakov battle during the First Lebanon War. Katz had been missing since the fierce battle on June 11, 1982, in the Bekaa Valley, where an Israeli armored unit clashed with Syrian forces. He was the final one of three soldiers unaccounted for from that engagement, following the return of Zachariah Baumel in 2019 and Tzvi Feldman in 2025.

The Sultan Yaakov battle occurred on the sixth day of Operation Peace for Galilee, with Israeli tank forces tasked with blocking key routes in the eastern Bekaa. The unit faced difficult terrain and heavy Syrian resistance, resulting in significant casualties and three soldiers missing in action: Baumel, Feldman, and Katz. Over the ensuing four decades, Israeli security and intelligence agencies conducted extensive, often secretive efforts to locate the missing soldiers, combining intelligence gathering, DNA testing, and field operations.

The breakthrough came in 2019 with the recovery and repatriation of Baumel’s remains in a covert operation named “Zemer Noga,” involving the IDF, Shin Bet, and other intelligence bodies. Six years later, Feldman’s body was returned to Israel through a complex Mossad and IDF mission based on precise intelligence. Katz’s remains were located shortly after, bringing closure to one of the longest and most sensitive missing soldier cases in IDF history.

The IDF’s announcement to Katz’s family marks the end of a 44-year search and provides a measure of resolution to the families and the military. The case of the three missing soldiers from Sultan Yaakov remains a poignant chapter in the memory of the First Lebanon War and the ongoing efforts to account for all fallen soldiers.