The Israel Defense Forces announced that they have officially identified the burial site of Private Arthur Gassner, who died in combat during military operations near Lachish in April 1949.
Although Gassner had long been presumed lost and believed to have been buried anonymously in a mass grave, recent findings confirmed that he was actually interred in Rehovot in 1949 alongside fellow soldiers who perished during the same battle in Israel’s War of Independence.
Maj.-Gen. Dado Bar Kalifa, who heads the IDF’s Manpower Directorate, stated: “After 76 years and at the end of a thorough and professional investigation, we have the right to determine that Arthur Gassner, the last missing person from the operation in Beit Guvrin in 1949, is buried in the military cemetery in Rehovot along with his comrades-in-arms.”
Gassner served in the IDF’s 8th Battalion, which encountered infiltrators during one of its missions. What began as an interception turned into a fierce and prolonged firefight.
Twelve Israeli soldiers lost their lives in the skirmish, including Gassner and two others who were declared missing at the time.
Evidence later showed that the bodies of the three missing soldiers had been moved to a cave near Idna, a location then under Jordanian rule, situated to the west of Hebron.
On May 6, 1949, the IDF launched an effort to retrieve the remains. They recovered two of the soldiers, who were buried in Rechovot that same month. Gassner’s body, however, was not found during the operation and he was listed as a fallen soldier with no known grave.
Decades later, in 2020, a renewed probe into Gassner’s disappearance brought together archival research, interviews with witnesses, soil testing, and archaeological analysis. The investigation ultimately concluded that Gassner had been buried alongside his comrades in the 1949 Rehovot burial.
Brig.-Gen. Edya Ilya, Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of the IDF’s Casualty Brigade, met with Gassner’s surviving family members to share the results of the inquiry.
According to the IDF, a memorial ceremony will be held in Rehovot, and Gassner’s name will be inscribed on the headstone at the collective grave that holds the three fallen soldiers.
{Matzav.com Israel}