Mossad officials said Sunday that the operation to recover the body of Staff Sgt. Zvi Feldman embodied the organization's core values and served as a message to families of missing or abducted Israelis: Israel never abandons efforts to bring everyone home, whether living or fallen. "There are the living and the dead in various places, not just Gaza," said a Mossad source. "This is an example of how Mossad works."
The effort began years ago, as part of ongoing attempts to locate the burial places of soldiers missing from the 1982 Battle of Sultan Yacoub. Parallel to the 2019 return of Zecharia Baumel's remains, facilitated by Russia, Mossad continued working on the cases of Feldman and Yehuda Katz, the latter still missing. The agency emphasized that an active operation regarding Katz is currently underway and being pursued "intensively," with hopes of reporting progress soon. "We have a moral obligation," they said.
Recovering Feldman's body required a complex intelligence and operational campaign, during which Mossad assets risked their lives. Although the team was initially barred from digging at a certain location, it ultimately returned under the cover of an elaborate ruse that enabled its presence. The fieldwork took five months, advancing "centimeter by centimeter," while building rapport with local guards. At one point, Feldman's coveralls were discovered, confirming they had found the right site. DNA tests corroborated the identification, and sacks containing evidence were removed from the area.
"One centimeter at a time"
Mossad stressed that even four decades after the battle, Israel continues pursuing its missing and fallen, not only from Sultan Yacoub and not only from Gaza. Efforts are also ongoing regarding other cases, such as Eli Cohen and the abduction of Elizabeth Tsurkov in Iraq, all without Russian involvement. Officials noted there is hope, but no guaranteed outcome: "We're handling it. There's a chance. We don't want to offer false hope."
The entire mission was closely coordinated with the IDF on both intelligence and operational levels, including the border crossing. Mossad field agents, referred to internally as "Blue and White assets", were deployed.
According to Mossad, once they found a way to win over the guards, the team was able to operate more freely. Instead of attempting a risky nighttime dig under tight security, they devised a creative deception plan involving local actors that enabled them to work in daylight.
The mission was conducted dozens of kilometers inside Syria, though not hundreds. The guards were described as professionals assigned to prevent any digging at the site. It remains unclear whether they knew or suspected who was buried there, but it is known they had received explicit instructions to prevent any excavation.
While the 2019 recovery of Baumel's remains relied on Russian help, this operation drew solely on Mossad's own capabilities - leveraging deception, cunning, creativity and precision.
