IDF Identifies Remains of Yehuda Katz, Last Missing Soldier from Sultan Yaakov Battle After 44 Years

The Israel Defense Forces recently informed the family of Yehuda Yekutiel Nachman Katz that his remains were found in Lebanon. Katz was a soldier declared missing following the Battle of Sultan Yaakov during the 1982 Lebanon War. He was the last missing soldier from that battle, which took place on June 11, 1982, just ten days before his scheduled discharge from the army.

Katz was born in Ramat Gan to Holocaust survivor parents and studied at the Nehalim and Kerem B'Yavneh yeshivas. He served in a combat role in the Armored Corps and fought alongside tank commander Lieutenant Zohar Lifshitz during the battle. The fierce engagement resulted in 20 Israeli soldiers killed and many wounded, with several armored vehicles lost. Six soldiers were initially declared missing; two were later returned as prisoners of war, and Lifshitz’s body was recovered.

Previously, two other soldiers missing from the same battle, Zecharia Baumel and Zvi Feldman, had their remains found in 2019 and 2025 respectively. Since Katz was declared missing, the IDF and his family have pursued information about his fate. According to the IDF Intelligence Directorate, Palestinian factions in Syria, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and his deputy Abu Jihad, concealed information about the missing soldiers to hinder Israeli efforts to locate them.

Katz’s mother, Sarah, passed away in 2011, and his father, Yosef, died in 2014. His sister, Frahia Heyman, has expressed hope that her brother might still be alive. The discovery of Katz’s remains closes a painful chapter for his family and the Israeli military, bringing resolution after more than four decades.