Pvt. Yaakov Zarihan, 23, was part of a convoy mission that set out for besieged Jerusalem during Israel’s War of Independence.
The remains of an Israeli soldier who fell during the 1948 War of Independence have been uncovered, the military announced on Wednesday.
Pvt. Yaakov Zarihan was killed while serving in the supply convoys to besieged Jerusalem, and his burial place remained unknown for decades.
An investigation that lasted roughly 15 years, led by the IDF’s Missing Persons Unit, has found that Zarihan was buried in a mass grave in the Harel Brigade Cemetery at Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim west of Jerusalem alongside seven other IDF soldiers who took part in “Operation Harel.”
The MPU decided to establish a special team in 2024 to analyze historical records, interview witnesses, conduct soil analyses and carry out archaeological surveys for the Zarihan file.