Unknown Vandals Damage Graves at Mount of Olives Cemetery Before Burial of Last Missing Soldier from 1982 Lebanon War

At least four gravestones were vandalized in the Jewish Quarter section of the military cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives, near the site where Staff Sergeant Yehuda Katz, the last missing soldier from the Battle of Sultan Yaakov in the 1982 Lebanon War, is to be buried tomorrow. The police have launched an investigation into the incident, which had not been previously reported.

During the 1948 War of Independence, around 70 casualties, including fighters and civilians, were buried at Mount of Olives after being evacuated from the Old City. The recent discovery of Katz's remains was announced by the IDF following a joint operation with the Mossad. Katz was one of six soldiers left behind during the fierce battle on June 11, 1982, between Israeli and Syrian forces in the sixth day of Operation Peace for Galilee. Three soldiers remained missing for decades; the remains of Staff Sergeants Zecharia Baumel and Zvi Feldman were recovered in 2017 and 2023, respectively.

The battle, commanded by Northern Command leader Avigdor (Yanush) Ben-Gal with Ehud Barak as deputy and Amram Mitzna as chief of staff, aimed to capture a strategic junction near Sultan Yaakov. The fighting resulted in 20 Israeli fatalities, dozens wounded, and six missing soldiers. Over time, the fate of some missing soldiers was clarified: one was killed and buried in Syria, another was held captive and released after two years, and a third was captured by a terrorist organization and freed three years later. Controversy surrounded the battle due to its heavy losses and unclear circumstances.

Katz's funeral procession will begin at 8:30 AM from the Karem Bivna Yeshiva where he studied, with the burial ceremony scheduled for 10:00 AM at the military section of Mount of Olives Cemetery. The discovery and return of Katz's remains bring closure to a decades-old chapter of the Lebanon War's unresolved missing soldiers.