After 44 years, Sgt. Yehuda Katz laid to rest, closing chapter from Sultan Yacoub battle

The burial of Yehuda Katz marks the definitive end of the Sultan Yacoub saga, one of the most painful chapters of the First Lebanon War. Katz, a tank gunner in the 362nd Battalion, went missing on June 11, 1982, during a fierce engagement with Syrian forces in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. For over four decades, his fate remained unknown, leaving his family and the nation in a state of prolonged uncertainty.

Completion of the Mission

The recovery of Katz's remains was the result of a multi-year intelligence and research effort led by the IDF Intelligence Directorate (Aman) in coordination with the Mossad. This operation follows the return of his fellow crew members: Zacharia Baumel in 2019 and Zvi Feldman in 2025. With Katz's burial today, the IDF has fulfilled its commitment to account for all three soldiers missing from that specific tank. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi informed the family that with this return, the Battle of Sultan Yacoub is finally over.

National Legacy and Closure

For the Katz family, the closure is bittersweet. His parents, Sarah and Yosef Katz, passed away years before the discovery. Rabbi Baruch Wieder, head of Yeshivat HaKotel and a fellow fighter in the 1982 battle, recalled Katz as a dedicated soldier who fought with his tefillin nearby. The return of the final missing soldier from this battle reinforces the IDF's ethos of never leaving a comrade behind. As the nation bids farewell to Katz at the Mount of Olives, the mission to account for all missing personnel remains a central pillar of Israeli military heritage. The Zioneer will continue to follow updates regarding the recovery of other missing personnel.