A harrowing four-decade-long saga in Israeli history was brought to a close on Tuesday with the return of the remains of Israeli soldier Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who went missing in the First Lebanon War’s battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982.

Following a secretive recovery mission, Israeli leaders hailed the country’s commitment to bring back every missing or fallen soldier, and with good reason.

The extraordinary fact of Katz’s return — following the recovery in recent years of the two other soldiers who disappeared at Sultan Yacoub — is a striking testament to Israel’s commitment to return its missing and fallen troops. But while it closes a wound from one war in Lebanon, another generation of Israeli soldiers continues to confront some of the same painful dilemmas across the northern border.

“Decades have passed, but our duty toward our fallen has not changed. We will leave none of our people behind,” IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir declared upon announcing the recovery mission.

The IDF said that a special operation led by the Military Intelligence Directorate, in coordination with the Mossad spy agency, located and returned Katz’s bones for burial.

No details were given on where his remains were found, with the IDF saying only that the finding was made possible due to a “series of intelligence and operational activities that continued for more than four decades, since he fell in battle.”

Those four decades began on a chaotic night in June 1982, just days into Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, which was formally aimed at pushing the Palestine Liberation Organization northward to stop its rocket and artillery fire into northern Israel.

An Israeli armored force advancing through the Beqaa Valley toward Sultan Yacoub ran into Syrian troops holding commanding positions in difficult terrain. The force became trapped in heavy fighting overnight and was extracted the following morning under intense artillery cover, shortly before a ceasefire took effect.

The battle claimed the lives of 21 Israeli servicemen and injured more than 30. Amid the confusion, three tank crewmen disappeared.

Katz, a tank gunner, went missing along with Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman. Baumel’s remains were recovered with Russian assistance and........

© The Times of Israel