Body of Missing Israeli Soldier Brought Back from Syria After 43 Years
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by i24 News and Algemeiner Staff
Sergeant First Class Tzvika Feldman. Photo courtesy of the family.
i24 News – The Israel Defense Forces and Mossad returned the body of Sergeant First Class Tzvika Feldman to Israel, according to a statement released on Sunday, after 43 years that he was missing.
Feldman fell in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, during the First Lebanon War in the Bekaa Valley, with Syrian soldiers transferring his body to Syria.
His body was identified at the Military Rabbinate’s Genomic Center for Identifying Fallen Soldiers. “The family was notified by the IDF in the presence of the Prime Minister,” the statement said.
According to the Saudi Al Arabiya, his body was found in the cemetery at the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria.
About a month and a half ago, the remains from four exhumed graves were transferred to Israel by special Israeli commando forces, with the assistance of Syrian militants.
The identification of Feldman’s remains was delayed due to the difficulty of verifying his DNA. Work is currently underway to analyze the other remains that were transferred from Syria to Israel.
Also missing is Sergeant First Class Yehuda Katz, who also fell in the same battle. Sergeant First Class Zechariah Baumel was returned in 2019.
