In a joint operation by the Mossad and the IDF, the body of Staff Sgt. Tzvi Feldman z”l, a tank crewman who fell in the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub during the First Lebanon War, has been brought back to Israel for burial. Feldman had been missing for over four decades, and efforts to locate him never ceased.
Emotional Visit and Message to the Family
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Feldman family home in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning, accompanied by his military secretary and Hostage and Missing Persons Coordinator Gal Hirsch, to deliver the news in person: Tzvika Feldman is finally home, 43 years after going missing.
Decades of Searching
Feldman was one of three soldiers missing from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, along with Staff Sgt. Zachary Baumel z”l and Yehuda Katz, who is still unaccounted for. Feldman’s return comes six years after Baumel’s body was recovered. Search efforts for Katz are ongoing.
Netanyahu noted that over the years, he had approved numerous covert operations to locate the missing soldiers from Sultan Yacoub. He reaffirmed a personal promise made to the Feldman family: “Dear parents Penina and Avraham never gave up the fight, but sadly passed away before this day came.
Today, we return Tzvika—beloved brother to Itzik, Shlomo, and Anat—to you, and to the soil of the Land of Israel, which he so dearly loved.”
In a joint statement from the Mossad and the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, it was written: “The return of Staff Sgt. Tzvika Feldman was made possible through a complex and covert operation, based on precise intelligence and operational capabilities that reflect strategic cunning and unwavering determination.”
Decades of Effort Acknowledged
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the Mossad, IDF, ISA (Shin Bet), and Coordinator Gal Hirsch for their decades of relentless effort to bring Feldman home: “The State of Israel and my government are fully committed to the return of all our missing and captive—both the living and the fallen.”
Hope for the Return of the Remaining MIAs
Netanyahu concluded with a verse from the Book of Jeremiah: “There is hope for your future, says the Lord, and the children shall return to their own border.” He emphasized that Israel will persist until all missing soldiers are brought home.
