Israel says it recovered 1982 Lebanon soldier's remains

Israel's military said Tuesday it had repatriated the remains of Sgt First Class Yehuda Katz, an Israeli soldier killed in Lebanon in 1982, in a joint operation with the Mossad intelligence agency.

The military said Katz was the last Israeli soldier declared missing after the Sultan Yacoub battle against Syrian forces in eastern Lebanon. It said efforts based on intelligence had continued for more than four decades.

The military did not say where Katz's body was found. It said his remains were brought to Israel and identified at an institute for the identification of fallen soldiers under the military rabbinate.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commended Israeli security forces and said he had approved clandestine operations over many years to locate soldiers missing from Sultan Yacoub. President Isaac Herzog said the return closed a long-standing wound from the battle.

Three Israeli soldiers had been missing for decades after Sultan Yacoub. The military announced the repatriation of Sgt First Class Zachariah Baumel's remains in 2019 and said in May 2025 that it had recovered the body of Sgt First Class Tzvika Feldman in Syria.