"This is a complete closure of 44 years": Yehuda Katz's comrade-in-arms returns to the night at Sultan Yacoub

Rabbi Yosef Yaguda, comrade-in-arms of Yehuda Katz, missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub, reacted with excitement to the news of the discovery of his remains. Yaguda, who fought in a nearby tank that night, said: "This is a complete closure of 44 years." He recounted their acquaintance at the 'Kerem B'Yavneh' yeshiva and the moment Katz's tank was hit, expressing frustration over the faulty intelligence that led the force into an ambush.

Rabbi Yosef Yaguda, head of the Haifa regional rabbinical court and comrade-in-arms of Yehuda Katz, reacted this morning (Wednesday) with great excitement to the news of the discovery of Katz's remains, missing since the Battle of Sultan Yacoub in the First Lebanon War. Yaguda, who was a gunner in a tank near Katz's tank that night, told Walla: "This is a complete closure of 44 years." He noted that there is a blessing called 'Hatov VeHameitiv' recited over those killed who were not buried, and thanked the parties in the State of Israel who worked to return the remains. Yaguda recounted that the two knew each other even before their military service, having begun studying in 1978 at the hesder yeshiva 'Kerem B'Yavneh'. During the battle, Yaguda heard a hit on a nearby tank but did not know it was his friend's tank. According to him, the tank driver Yehuda Kaplan saw Katz being hit. Yaguda expressed frustration over how the force was caught in a trap, noting there was intelligence about a Syrian ambush but the report to the battalion said the area was clear.