IDF Returns Remains of Missing Tank Commander Yehuda Katz From 1982 Lebanon War

The remains of Staff Sergeant Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, an Israeli armored corps soldier who fell in the Battle of Sultan Yaakov on June 11, 1982, during the First Lebanon War, have been brought back to Israel. Katz had been classified as missing for 44 years. The recovery operation was led by Israeli Military Intelligence (AMAN) in cooperation with the Mossad and community efforts. After the remains were returned, identification was conducted at the Military Rabbinate's identification center with the assistance of the Medical Corps and Israeli Police.

Katz's parents, Sarah and Yosef Katz, Holocaust survivors, unfortunately passed away before receiving the news of their son's return. Yehuda Katz was born in Ramat Gan and studied at Nehalim Yeshiva and later at Kerem B'Yavneh Yeshiva under Rabbi Chaim Yaakov Goldwicht. He was known for his academic and religious talents. Katz served as a tank crewman and fought alongside his tank commander, Lieutenant Zohar Lifshitz, who was killed in the same battle. Lifshitz's body was returned to Israel in 1984 during a prisoner exchange with Syria.

For decades, Katz, along with fellow soldiers Zechariah Baumel and Tzvi Feldman, were considered missing from the Sultan Yaakov battle. The IDF and Katz's family continuously sought information about his fate. According to Israeli Military Intelligence, Palestinian factions in Syria, under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and his deputy Abu Jihad, deliberately concealed information about the missing soldiers to hinder Israeli efforts to locate them.