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Israeli MIAs
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<h2 id="idf-prisoners-of-war">IDF prisoners of war</h2> <p>In the <a href="/facts/Yom_Kippur_War/tTNe7UlK">Yom Kippur War</a> 301 Israelis were captured by <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a> and <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a>, 232 of whom by the Egyptians, 65 by the Syrians and 4 by the Lebanese. The majority of them were captured in the first stage of that war. Some Israeli soldiers reported after their release about the difficult conditions they faced: they were severely beaten by their captors, sometimes making them unconscious, while many reported that they were being investigated under <a href="/facts/Torture/oTCUxY3x">torture</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p> <h3>Known Israeli MIAs</h3> <ul><li>Yehuda Katz, an IDF soldier of the 362nd battalion declared missing after the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Sultan_Yacoub/PdpV11ua">Battle of Sultan Yacoub</a> in <a href="/facts/Lebanon/2dReTXyp">Lebanon</a> on June 12, 1982.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Ron_Arad_(pilot)/c3LB79Yr">Ron Arad</a>, an IDF <a href="/facts/F-4_Phantom_II/epGAnaxt">F-4 Phantom II</a> navigator, was lost over <a href="/facts/Lebanon/2dReTXyp">Lebanon</a> on October 16, 1986.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Guy_Hever/jee5UW6b">Guy Hever</a> disappeared on duty in the <a href="/facts/Golan_Heights/KtqR6nDN">Golan Heights</a> on August 17, 1997.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h3>October 7th and aftermath</h3> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/Gaza_war_hostage_crisis/MLRxqM32">Gaza war hostage crisis</a>, <a href="/facts/2023_Israeli%25E2%2580%2593Palestinian_prisoner_exchange/hUJBllhL">2023 Israeli–Palestinian prisoner exchange</a>, and <a href="/facts/2025_Gaza_war_ceasefire/TLRwjJvm">2025 Gaza war ceasefire</a></p> <p>During the Hamas <a href="/facts/October_7_Hamas-led_attack_on_Israel/vRHlfVYB">October 7 invasion of Israel</a>, 251 people were abducted from Israel into the Gaza strip. Of these, at least 23 were IDF soldiers, while the rest were Israeli civilians (both Jewish and non-Jewish), and foreign workers. Seven of the soldiers taken hostage were taken from the Nahal Oz military base, near the <a href="/facts/Kibbutz_Nahal_Oz/up3j9esb">Kibbutz Nahal Oz</a>, during the <a href="/facts/Nahal_Oz_attack/nkp70ESR">Nahal Oz attack</a>. All seven were females.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Rescue_of_Ori_Megidish/5qKj84BM">One was rescued</a> three weeks after being taken hostage, the body of one was recovered in November 2023<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a>, and the other five were released in January 2025 as part of the <a href="/facts/2025_Gaza_war_ceasefire/TLRwjJvm">second Gaza war ceasefire</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> The remainder of the soldiers taken captive include Colonel <a href="/facts/Asaf_Hamami/N5l6Vx1P">Asaf Hamami</a>, the highest ranking officer whose body was abducted, Sergeant Major Muhammad Alatrash an Israeli from the <a href="/facts/Bedouin/gIASwABv">Bedouin</a> community, and Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American citizen.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>In addition to the soldiers taken hostage in the October 7 invasion of Israel, Hamas also holds the body of Lieutenant <a href="/facts/Hadar_Goldin/ohAzVkfk">Hadar Goldin</a> who fell in battle during the <a href="/facts/2014_Gaza_War/ohAzVkfk">2014 Gaza War</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="recovered-mias-and-kias">Recovered MIAs and KIAs</h2> <p>The remains of several Israeli soldiers missing and killed in action have been recovered. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Name</th><th>Date Missing/Killed</th><th>Circumstance</th><th>Date Recovered</th><th>Circumstance</th></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Zechariah_Baumel/MA01sypN">Zechariah Baumel</a></td><td>10–11 June, 1982</td><td><a href="/facts/Battle_of_Sultan_Yacoub/PdpV11ua">Battle of Sultan Yacoub</a></td><td>April 4, 2019</td><td>Operation Bittersweet Song</td></tr><tr><td>Tzvi Feldman</td><td>10–11 June, 1982</td><td><a href="/facts/Battle_of_Sultan_Yacoub/PdpV11ua">Battle of Sultan Yacoub</a></td><td>May 11, 2025</td><td>Mossad Operation<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Oron_Shaul/qSM9Qyhz">Oron Shaul</a></td><td>July 20, 2014</td><td><a href="/facts/Battle_of_Shuja%2527iyya_(2014)/yBrvXbIl">Battle of Shuja'iyya</a></td><td>January 19, 2025</td><td>ISA/Shabak Operation</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Ehud_Goldwasser/6smuGcGH">Ehud Goldwasser</a></td><td>12 July 2006</td><td><a href="/facts/Operation_Truthful_Promise/paTCQSWk">Operation Truthful Promise</a></td><td>16 July 2008</td><td>Prisoner Exchange<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Eldad_Regev/3fL4jHbv">Eldad Regev</a></td><td>12 July 2006</td><td><a href="/facts/Operation_Truthful_Promise/paTCQSWk">Operation Truthful Promise</a></td><td>16 July 2008</td><td>Prisoner Exchange<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Gilad_Shalit/J8k8dPfU">Gilad Shalit</a></td><td>25 June 2006</td><td><a href="/facts/2006_Gaza_cross-border_raid/jhck2CyN">2006 Gaza cross-border raid</a></td><td>18 October 2011</td><td><a href="/facts/Gilad_Shalit_prisoner_exchange/TgpLD648">Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange</a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Nachshon_Wachsman/3oB0p63G">Nachshon Wachsman</a></td><td>October 9, 1994</td><td><a href="/facts/Abduction_and_killing_of_Nachshon_Wachsman/3oB0p63G">Abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman</a></td><td>October 14 1994</td><td>Rescue Attempt</td></tr></tbody></table> <ul><li></li></ul> <h2 id="procedure-and-guidelines">Procedure and guidelines</h2> <p>According to Reuben Yardor, a military intelligence leader of the <a href="/facts/Yom_Kippur_War/tTNe7UlK">Yom Kippur War</a>, the automatic assumption they made was that all that's known to their captured soldiers is also known to the captors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p><p>Several publicized stories of Israeli prisoners of war were:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>Corporal <a href="/facts/Uri_Ilan/mNyEtAqx">Uri Ilan</a>, undercover soldier in the <a href="/facts/Golani_Brigade/pBgpyHFK">Golani Brigade</a> who committed suicide in a Syrian prison in 1955, leaving a note in which he wrote, "I did not betray."</li> <li>Lieutenant Colonel Avi Nir, <a href="/facts/Fighter_pilot/QvqJ7y6K">fighter pilot</a> shot down and captured during the Yom Kippur War, died in captivity without revealing secrets to his captors. He was posthumously awarded the <a href="/facts/Medal_of_Courage/JpUVDafD">Medal of Courage</a>, for "[He] was tortured to death by investigators but revealed no information. Doing so demonstrates loyalty and supreme sacrifice."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a></li> <li>Lieutenant Amos Levinberg, <a href="/facts/Intelligence_officer/XhDxKKUa">intelligence officer</a> taken captive by the Syrians in the beginning the Yom Kippur War, and gave his captors a lot of information. He was eventually released in a prisoner exchange.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Gilad_Shalit/J8k8dPfU">Gilad Shalit</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Disappearance_of_Ron_Arad/c3LB79Yr">Disappearance of Ron Arad</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Majdi_Halabi/NnYJUrzd">Majdi Halabi</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_Israeli_prisoner_exchanges/5u3Gg8cs">List of Israeli prisoner exchanges</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Kaplan, Danny (July 31, 2008). "Commemorating a suspended death: Missing soldiers and national solidarity in Israel". <i>American Ethnologist</i>. 35 (3). Wiley-Blackwell: 413–427. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1548-1425.2008.00043.x">10.1111/j.1548-1425.2008.00043.x</a>. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0094-0496">0094-0496</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://www.congress.gov/106/plaws/publ89/PLAW-106publ89.pdf">Public Law 106–89 106th Congress</a>, US Congress, November 8, 1999</li> <li>Alexander Bligh (16 March 2017). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=DW81DgAAQBAJ"><i>Israeli Prisoner of War Policies: From the 1949 Armistice to the 2006 Kidnappings</i></a>. Lexington Books. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-7391-9472-0.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="http://www.eitan.aka.idf.il/894-en/eitan.aspx">EITAN - Missing in Action Accounting Unit</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180403112404/http://www.eitan.aka.idf.il/894-en/eitan.aspx">Archived</a> 2018-04-03 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> of the IDF</li> <li><a href="http://www.mia.org.il/">ICMIS Home Page: The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Simmons, Rabbi Shraga (October 16, 1986). "Missing in Action". aishcom. Retrieved April 2, 2018. <a href="http://www.aish.com/h/imd/48899777.html" target="_blank">http://www.aish.com/h/imd/48899777.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Israel's MIAs". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 11 October 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2013. <a href="http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2004/Pages/Israeli%20MIAs.aspx" target="_blank">http://mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFA-Archive/2004/Pages/Israeli%20MIAs.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Fischer, Elli (August 30, 2017). "Yehuda, Tzvi, and Zachary: MIA for 30 Years". The Times of Israel. Retrieved April 2, 2018. <a href="https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yehuda-tzvi-and-zachary-missing-for-30-years-tonight/" target="_blank">https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yehuda-tzvi-and-zachary-missing-for-30-years-tonight/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Kaplan, Danny. "Commemorating a Suspended Death: Missing Soldiers and National Solidarity in Israel" (PDF). American Ethnologist Volume 35, Number 3 (August 2008). ISSN 0094-0496. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120317004813/http://www.dannykaplan.org/articles/SuspendedDeathCirculatePrePublication.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120317004813/http://www.dannykaplan.org/articles/SuspendedDeathCirculatePrePublication.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Kaplan, Danny. "Commemorating a Suspended Death: Missing Soldiers and National Solidarity in Israel" (PDF). American Ethnologist Volume 35, Number 3 (August 2008). ISSN 0094-0496. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120317004813/http://www.dannykaplan.org/articles/SuspendedDeathCirculatePrePublication.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120317004813/http://www.dannykaplan.org/articles/SuspendedDeathCirculatePrePublication.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Fabian, Emanuel (24 December 2024). "As IDF releases audio of lookout troops on Oct. 7, families complain footage edited". The Times of Israel. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-idf-releases-audio-of-lookout-troops-on-oct-7-families-complain-footage-edited/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-idf-releases-audio-of-lookout-troops-on-oct-7-families-complain-footage-edited/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Her body was recovered from Al-Shifa Hospital[6] <a href="/wiki/Al-Shifa_Hospital" target="_blank">/wiki/Al-Shifa_Hospital</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Magramo, Akanksha Sharma, Kathleen (2023-10-31). "Israeli forces rescue soldier held by Hamas in special operation, IDF says". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 February 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/middleeast/idf-ori-megidish-rescue-hamas-hostage-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank">https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/31/middleeast/idf-ori-megidish-rescue-hamas-hostage-intl-hnk/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Gil-Ad, Hadar (7 January 2024). "IDF soldier Noa Marciano was killed in Shifa hospital. Her father calls release of its director a 'knife to the heart'". Ynet. <a href="https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkrom11xdr" target="_blank">https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkrom11xdr</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"IDF soldiers released from captivity were held by senior Hamas terrorist – report". The Times of Israel. 4 February 2025. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-soldiers-released-from-captivity-were-held-by-senior-hamas-terrorist-report/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-soldiers-released-from-captivity-were-held-by-senior-hamas-terrorist-report/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Bletter, Diana (19 March 2025). "With new Gaza fighting, 4 IDF widows worry the bodies of their fallen husbands won't return". The Times of Israel. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-new-gaza-fighting-4-idf-widows-worry-the-bodies-of-their-fallen-husbands-wont-return/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/with-new-gaza-fighting-4-idf-widows-worry-the-bodies-of-their-fallen-husbands-wont-return/</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Mednick, Sam (March 22, 2025). "Father of the last living American hostage in Gaza hopes Trump can bring his son home". AP News. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/edan-alexander-american-hostage-hamas-israel-ceasefire-6f3f08b0359d8b9953c134174c59a870" target="_blank">https://apnews.com/article/edan-alexander-american-hostage-hamas-israel-ceasefire-6f3f08b0359d8b9953c134174c59a870</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Schneider, Tal (27 January 2025). "Once again, Hadar Goldin may be left behind". The Times of Israel. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/once-again-hadar-goldin-may-be-left-behind/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/once-again-hadar-goldin-may-be-left-behind/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Fabian, Emanuel. "Body of soldier Zvi Feldman, missing for 43 years, recovered by Mossad and IDF". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2025-05-11. <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/body-of-soldier-zvi-feldman-missing-for-43-years-recovered-by-mossad-and-idf/" target="_blank">https://www.timesofisrael.com/body-of-soldier-zvi-feldman-missing-for-43-years-recovered-by-mossad-and-idf/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Kidnapped troops return in coffins from Lebanon". ynet. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2025-05-11. <a href="https://www.ynet.co.il/article/3568851" target="_blank">https://www.ynet.co.il/article/3568851</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"Kidnapped troops return in coffins from Lebanon". ynet. 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2025-05-11. <a href="https://www.ynet.co.il/article/3568851" target="_blank">https://www.ynet.co.il/article/3568851</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Dalia Gavriely (2006). "Israel's Cultural Code of Captivity and the Personal Stories of Yom Kippur War Ex-POWs". Sage Journals. 33 (1): 94–105. doi:10.1177/0095327X05282531. Retrieved August 20, 2013. <a href="http://afs.sagepub.com/content/33/1/94" target="_blank">http://afs.sagepub.com/content/33/1/94</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Public Law- An Act" (PDF). November 8, 1999. Retrieved August 20, 2013. <a href="https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ89/pdf/PLAW-106publ89.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-106publ89/pdf/PLAW-106publ89.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>(The source is in Hebrew) <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>Bergman, Ronen (September 20, 2013). "The Spies Inside Damascus". Foreign Policy. Retrieved April 2, 2018. <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/20/the-spies-inside-damascus/" target="_blank">https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/09/20/the-spies-inside-damascus/</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>