Netanyahu visits family of Yehuda Katz, after soldier missing for 44 years receives burial

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the family of Sgt. First Class Yehuda Yekutiel Katz to offer condolences following the soldier's burial last week. Katz went missing 44 years ago during the First Lebanon War and his remains were recently recovered in an operation in Lebanon.

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I am deeply moved by the return of Katz's remains to Israel, and I express my sorrow over the fact that Katz's parents passed away before the return.

The Prime Minister's Office announced Netanyahu's visit, stating that he expressed deep sorrow over the return of Katz's remains, particularly noting that Katz's parents had passed away before their son could be brought home. The family described Katz to Netanyahu as a "Torah scholar, a man of values, and a professional and devoted fighter."

Katz disappeared during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub on June 11, 1982. The IDF recovered his remains last week through an operation involving Military Intelligence and the Mossad. Two other soldiers who went missing in the same incident had their bodies recovered in 2019 and 2025, respectively. An identification process was conducted at the Military Rabbinate’s Center for the Identification of Fallen.

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a Torah scholar, a man of values, and a professional and devoted fighter.

"Today, all of us, the entire people of Israel, embrace the Katz family," Netanyahu stated upon the return of the body. He addressed Katz's siblings, Avi and Perachia, saying, "we return your beloved Yehuda, to you and to the soil of the Land of Israel that he loved so much." Former deputy defense minister Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan, who fought alongside Katz, described the discovery as sending "chills" and noted that "the circle of the great effort to save the armored battalion that was caught in a Syrian ambush has closed. No one is left behind."

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In an operation led by the Military Intelligence and a joint community effort with the Mossad, the remains of Yehuda were located and brought to Israel.

Katz was buried on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem on Friday. The recovery and burial mark the end of a long wait for his family and symbolize a closure for a decades-old national sorrow.

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Today, all of us, the entire people of Israel, embrace the Katz family. His dear parents, Sarah and Yosef, of blessed memory, never stopped working to locate him and bring him home, and sadly, they have already passed away. To you, his siblings Avi and Perachia, we return your beloved Yehuda, to you and to the soil of the Land of Israel that he loved so much.