{"id":23218,"date":"2025-05-16T11:49:04","date_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/?p=23218"},"modified":"2025-05-16T11:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T08:56:19","slug":"secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Secret Talks in Damascus May Lead to Return of Eli Cohen\u2019s Remains and Missing Israeli Soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A surprising new report published Friday by the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar claims that Syria\u2019s new leadership, under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, is open to disclosing the location of Eli Cohen\u2019s remains\u2014Israel\u2019s legendary spy executed in Damascus in 1965\u2014as well as information on Israeli soldiers missing since the First Lebanon War.<\/p>\n

According to the article, written by Al-Akhbar\u2019s editor Ibrahim al-Amin, security mediation between Syria and Israel has reached a critical new phase, with Damascus expressing conditional willingness to reveal burial sites of Israeli MIAs from 1982.<\/p>\n

\"\"
IDF forces operating in Syria | Photo: IDF Spokesperson\u2019s Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The report states that recent meetings took place in Abu Dhabi, with participation from Israeli and American officials alongside representatives from the new Syrian regime. Arab diplomats quoted in the piece say the dialogue is being framed as a non-official understanding aimed at easing tensions with Israel and potentially laying the groundwork for broader stabilization measures in Syria.<\/p>\n

American \u201cIncentives\u201d Behind the Shift<\/strong>
\nThe article suggests that U.S. negotiators offered the Syrian government what were described as \u201cneeded incentives\u201d to encourage cooperation. In exchange, Damascus has begun distancing itself from Palestinian factions allegedly operating from within Syria and using its territory to launch attacks against Israel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Trump and Syrian leader Jolani meet during Saudi summit. (Photo: White House Press Office)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nRenewed Hope for Eli Cohen\u2019s Return<\/strong>
\nThe case of Eli Cohen, who infiltrated the highest levels of the Syrian government in the 1960s before being caught and executed, has remained a high-priority issue in Israel for decades. His story is considered a symbol of sacrifice, bravery, and national legacy.<\/p>\n

Successive Israeli governments have worked tirelessly to recover his remains. Now, with the emergence of Syria\u2019s new leadership, hope is rising that Cohen\u2019s body might finally be returned home.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Eli Cohen in Damascus, 1963. Postcard sent to his wife Nadia | Photo: Wikipedia
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lebanese report: Syria signals willingness to provide information on Israeli MIAs from 1982 and legendary spy executed in 1965.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":23219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6],"tags":[2238,3224,1544,1480,2030],"class_list":["post-23218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-security","tag-damascus","tag-eli-cohen","tag-hezbollah","tag-israel","tag-syria"],"yoast_head":"\nSecret Talks in Damascus May Lead to Return of Eli Cohen\u2019s Remains and Missing Israeli Soldiers - REGA news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secret Talks in Damascus May Lead to Return of Eli Cohen\u2019s Remains and Missing Israeli Soldiers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lebanese report: Syria signals willingness to provide information on Israeli MIAs from 1982 and legendary spy executed in 1965.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"REGA news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T08:49:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-16T08:56:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eli-cohen.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"862\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"By Shimon Levi\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"By Shimon Levi\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"By Shimon Levi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/4d7bc34deb63b02173f4b03d0273ec11\"},\"headline\":\"Secret Talks in Damascus May Lead to Return of Eli Cohen\u2019s Remains and Missing Israeli Soldiers\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-16T08:49:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-16T08:56:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/\"},\"wordCount\":352,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/eli-cohen.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Damascus\",\"Eli Cohen\",\"Hezbollah\",\"Israel\",\"Syria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"POLITICS\",\"SECURITY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/secret-talks-in-damascus-may-lead-to-return-of-eli-cohens-remains-and-missing-israeli-soldiers\/\",\"name\":\"Secret Talks in Damascus May Lead to Return of Eli Cohen\u2019s Remains and Missing Israeli Soldiers - 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