"As far as we're concerned, Yehuda was killed this week, not 44 years ago": IDF fallen soldier Yehuda Katz laid to rest in Jerusalem

Master Sergeant Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, who fell in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub 44 years ago and whose remains were returned to Israel this week, was laid to rest on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. His brother Avi eulogized him, and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said his return completes the recovery of all missing soldiers from the battle.

Master Sergeant Yehuda Yekutiel Katz, an armored corps soldier who fell in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub on June 11, 1982, during the First Lebanon War, was laid to rest at the Mount of Olives cemetery in Jerusalem. His remains were located and returned to Israel this week, after 44 years in which he was defined as missing. His brother, Avi Katz, eulogized him at his grave and described the long family struggle: "As far as we're concerned, Yehuda was killed this week, not 44 years ago." He told of their parents who traveled every night to pray for him, and of the hope that never ceased. The identification was based on a range of forensic and medical findings, not on DNA, after examining hundreds of kilograms of materials from the tank in which he fought. The Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, told the family that his return completes the recovery of all missing soldiers from the Battle of Sultan Yacoub: Zacharia Baumel was returned in 2019 and Zvi Feldman in 2025. Yehuda's parents, Sarah and Yosef Katz, did not live to receive the news.