More than four decades after the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in the First Lebanon War, Israel has brought home the remains of soldier Yehuda ‘Yekutiel’ Katz, who had been missing since 1982. The Israeli army confirmed on Tuesday that the remains recovered during a special operation had been brought to Israel and conclusively identified.
According to IDF statements, the operation was conducted under the leadership of military intelligence together with Mossad. It was part of decades-long intelligence and operational efforts to clarify the fate of the missing soldier and bring him back to Israel.
Following the recovery, the remains were examined at the Center for the Identification of Fallen Soldiers of the Military Rabbinate Unit, with the participation of the Medical Corps and the Israeli Police. After the identification process was completed, the family was informed.
Katz was a tank crew member who fell on June 11, 1982, in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub. He had been listed as missing ever since. The fighting took place in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon, where Israeli forces encountered Syrian troops during the First Lebanon War.
More than 44 years after he disappeared in battle, the remains of IDF soldier Yehuda Katz have finally come home.
May his memory be a blessing. 🕯️🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/xX7D0rKVfN— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) August 18, 2026
Three Israeli soldiers remained missing after the battle: Zachary Baumel, Zvi Feldman, and Katz. Their repatriation occupied Israeli security services and several governments for decades.
Baumel’s remains were brought to Israel in 2019 following a covert operation. In May 2025, Israel also succeeded in repatriating Feldman’s remains. Katz was thus the last of the three missing soldiers from Sultan Yacoub who had not yet been brought back to Israel.
According to the IDF, the efforts were based on precise intelligence information and a series of complex operations spanning more than four decades.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir spoke with Katz’s family following the repatriation. With the return of the last missing soldier, a circle had been closed after nearly half a century. “The Battle of Sultan Yacoub is over,” Zamir told the family.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also recalled that over the years he had authorized numerous covert operations in the search for the missing soldiers from Sultan Yacoub. He had promised the families that he would never cease efforts to bring them home.
“About seven years ago, we brought Zachary Baumel back to Israel for burial. In May 2025, we brought back Zvi Feldman. And not for a single moment did we stop our efforts to bring back Yehuda Katz as well,” Netanyahu stated.
The Prime Minister also remembered Katz’s parents, Sarah and Yosef, who had campaigned for years in search of their son but did not live to see his return. Addressing Katz’s siblings Avi and Perachia, Netanyahu said: “We are bringing beloved Yehuda back to you – to you and to the soil of the Land of Israel, which he loved so dearly.”
Netanyahu thanked the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet, and the Coordinator for Hostages and Missing Persons for their years of effort. Israel remains committed to the task of bringing back its missing soldiers and hostages.
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