Latest news with #TzvikaFeldman
Daily Tribune
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Tribune
Israeli army says body of soldier missing for 43 years found in 'heart of Syria'
The Israeli army said yesterday it had repatriated the body of a soldier missing for more than four decades, after locating the remains in the "heart of Syria" during a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency. Tzvika Feldman was one of three Israeli soldiers who went missing during the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub against Syrian forces in eastern Lebanon. One of the soldiers was returned to Israel six years ago, and with Feldman now brought home, Israeli leaders said efforts would continue to recover the third. "In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel," the army said in a statement. In a separate statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate Feldman's remains, noting that the search for him and his comrades -- Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz -- had been ongoing for decades. "Approximately six years ago, we returned for a Jewish burial, Sgt. First Class Zechariah Baumel; today we have returned Tzvika, of blessed memory," Netanyahu's statement said, adding that the prime minister had personally notified Feldman's parents. "We will not cease our efforts to return Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who is also an MIA from the same battle." The army said that Feldman's remains had been identified by the Genomic Identification Center for Fallen Soldiers of the Military Rabbinate but gave little detail on how his body was located deep inside Syria. No one left behind "The return of Sgt. Feldman was made possible through a complex and covert operation, enabled by precise intelligence and the use of operational capabilities that demonstrated ingenuity and courage," the statement said. "This concludes an extensive intelligence and operational effort that spanned more than four decades, involving close cooperation between the POW/ MIA Coordinators in the Prime Minister's Office, intelligence and operational units within the Mossad and IDF Intelligence Directorate, along with the Shin Bet and the IDF Human Resources Directorate," the army said. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group said in a statement that returning Feldman's remains should serve as "a powerful moral and national reminder to the prime minister and cabinet members -- a proper burial isn't a privilege, but a fundamental duty the state owes to its citizens and soldiers". "In Israel, we leave no one behind. We cannot allow ourselves as a society to accept a reality where families wait more than 40 years to be reunited with their loved ones," the forum said, urging to bring home all the remaining hostages being held by Palestinian militants in Gaza since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. Some 58 hostages remain held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. Hamas also holds the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in a 2014 war. Defence Minister Israel Katz said efforts would continue until "all of its (Israel's) sons and daughters are brought home". "The return of all the missing and captured, both the living and the fallen, is not only a deep commitment -- it is also our moral and national duty," the minister said in a statement.
Shafaq News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Israel recovers soldier's remains 43 years after Lebanon battle
Shafaq News/ Israel recovered the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 1982 during a battle in eastern Lebanon, following a 'special operation' deep inside Syrian territory. In a joint statement, the Israeli army and Mossad revealed the body belongs to the Staff Sergeant Tzvika Feldman, without disclosing the timing or exact location of the operation. Feldman was one of three soldiers missing since the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, where Israeli forces clashed with Syrian troops during Israel's large-scale invasion that reached Beirut and parts of central and eastern Lebanon. The announcement came amid heightened Israeli activity in the Golan Heights. Following the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by opposition factions on December 8, Israeli forces advanced into the buffer zone monitored by the United Nations under the 1973 disengagement agreement. Israel captured part of the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 and annexed the territory in 1981—a move not recognized internationally, except by the United States. Additionally, the Israeli army continues to search for the remains of other missing soldiers, including airman Ron Arad, captured in Lebanon in 1986, and Guy Hever, who disappeared in the Golan in 1997. Israel previously recovered the remains of another soldier from the same battle, Battalion Commander Zachary Baumel, in 2019. The fate of the third missing soldier, Yehuda Katz, remains unknown.
The National
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Israel says body of soldier missing for 43 years recovered by Mossad from Syria
Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza The Israeli army said on Sunday that the body of a soldier missing for 43 years had been found in Syria and repatriated in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency. 'The body of Sergeant First Class Tzvika Feldman was located in the heart of Syria and returned to Israel,' the military said. The army said Sgt Feldman went missing along with two other soldiers in the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub that pitted Israeli and Syrian troops against each other in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria. The army gave few details of how his remains were located deep inside the country, but the operation is evidence of Israel pushing the boundaries in its interventions in Syria. The army said the return of Sgt Feldman was made possible through a complex and covert operation, enabled by precise intelligence and the use of operational capabilities that demonstrated ingenuity. 'This concludes an extensive intelligence and operational effort that spanned more than four decades,' it added. 'Following the recovery, the body was identified at the Military Rabbinate's Genomic Centre for Identifying Fallen Soldiers, and the family was notified by the IDF in the presence of the Prime Minister.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate the body, saying the search for Sgt Feldman and two others – Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz – had been continuing for decades. 'For many long years, I have authorised numerous covert operations to locate the missing from Sultan Yaaqoub, and I promised the Feldman family that I would never stop working to bring their son home,' Mr Netanyahu said. 'We will not cease our efforts to return Sgt First Class Yehuda Katz, who is also MIA from the same battle.' Cases of soldiers missing for decades have a powerful emotional and political resonance in Israel, where military service is compulsory for most Jewish men.
Mint
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
After 43 Years, missing Israeli soldier's body found in ‘heart of Syria'
Israel: It has been 43 years since a soldier went missing. On Sunday, May 11, the Israeli army said that the missing soldier's body was found in the "heart of Syria" and repatriated in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency. "In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel," the army said in a statement, reported AFP. Feldman went missing along with two other soldiers in the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub that pitted Israeli and Syrian forces against each other in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria. In a separate statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate Feldman's body, noting that the search for him and his comrades – Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz – had been ongoing for decades. (Keep checking for more updates)
Arab News
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli army says body of soldier missing for 43 years found in ‘heart of Syria'
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said Sunday that the body of a soldier missing for 43 years had been found in the 'heart of Syria' and repatriared in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency. 'In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel,' the army said in a statement.
