The burial of IDF soldier Tzvi Feldman, who fell in the First Lebanon War in 1982 and remained unaccounted for over four decades, took place on Monday at the military cemetery in Holon. Feldman’s body was recovered as a result of a secret Israeli operation conducted in Syria, a country ravaged by conflict.
The funeral procession began at the IDF Rabbinate facility in the Shura military base, with mourners following the solemn journey to Feldman’s final resting place.
At the graveside, Yitzhak Feldman paid tribute to his brother. “The Prime Minister always promised he would bring Tzvika back,” he said. “Yesterday, I told him, you fulfilled your oath.”
Tzvi’s sister, Anat, described the relentless efforts the family undertook over the years to discover what happened to him. “We even spoke with the King of Morocco,” she said. “Yesterday we were informed that you have returned. We feel joy mixed with great sorrow.”
A report by the Saudi outlet Al-Arabiya revealed that Feldman had been buried in a cemetery located in the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus. The exact spot was known to only five individuals. After government control in the area disintegrated, Israeli forces initiated a covert extraction mission. The undertaking included elite Israeli commandos, local armed partners, and Mossad agents.
Four graves were unearthed by the team, and the remains were transported to Israel for identification. It was DNA analysis that ultimately verified Feldman’s identity. Authorities are also reviewing other remains recovered during the same mission to assess whether they could be linked to famed Israeli intelligence agent Eli Cohen, widely remembered in Israel as “Our man in Damascus.”
{Matzav.com Israel}