IDF Confirms Remains of Soldier Missing 44 Years in Sultan Yaakov Battle Found in Syria

The Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday that remains found in Syria have been identified as those of Yehuda Katz, missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yaakov. This discovery closes a painful chapter that began 44 years ago, following the earlier return of the other two missing soldiers from the battle, Zekharia Baumel and Tzvi Feldman. The battle, part of the First Lebanon War, is remembered as a significant IDF setback where Israeli armored forces were caught in a topographical trap by Syrian and Palestinian forces deep inside Syrian territory. A ceasefire took effect midday on June 11, 1982, allowing a difficult evacuation supported by heavy artillery, but leaving behind 20 dead, 31 wounded, and three missing soldiers.

The three missing soldiers were crew members from two different tanks: Yehuda Katz, a gunner, from one tank, and Zekharia Baumel, the driver, and Tzvi Feldman, the loader-radio operator, from another. The battle's chaos and involvement of Palestinian groups led to numerous conflicting accounts about the fate of the missing soldiers. Katz, a Ramat Gan native and son of Holocaust survivors who studied at the Kerem B'Yavneh yeshiva, had entered the battle just ten days before his scheduled discharge. His family, especially his mother Sarah and father Yosef, devoted decades to searching for him, with Yosef Baumel becoming a prominent figure in the effort to locate his son Zekharia.

Despite extensive intelligence efforts by the IDF and families, Palestinian factions in Syria, reportedly under Yasser Arafat's guidance, actively concealed information to prevent the soldiers' recovery. In 2004, the military chief rabbi sought to declare the three as fallen with unknown burial sites, but family opposition kept the case open. Progress came only recently: Baumel's remains were found in 2019 and Feldman's in May 2025. Sadly, the parents of the missing soldiers passed away before the final closure. The latest identification of Katz's remains in Syria marks the conclusion of a saga that has deeply affected Israeli society for over four decades.