Nearly eight decades after he was killed during Israel’s War of Independence, the final resting place of Pvt. Yaakov Zrihan has been identified following a painstaking 15-year investigation, bringing long-awaited closure to his family.

Investigators concluded that Zrihan was laid to rest in a mass grave at the Harel Brigade military cemetery in Kibbutz Kiryat Anavim, alongside other IDF soldiers who were killed during Operation Harel.

The IDF announced that “Private Yaakov Zrihan fell in a supply convoy to the besieged Jerusalem during Operation Harel in 1948, and his place of burial was unknown. After an intense investigation led by the IDF Casualties Department’s Missing Persons Branch, which took 15 years, his place of burial was located.”

Zrihan immigrated to Israel from Casablanca, Morocco, in December 1947 aboard the Haportzim illegal immigration ship as part of the Habonim movement. After arriving, he underwent training at Kibbutz Ramat Hakovesh as part of the “Hasna” program, whose participants were expected to settle in Kibbutz Bror Chayil. On April 12, 1948, he enlisted in the Transportation Service and became an operational driver in the Etzioni Brigade. Just days later, during Operation Harel, he joined a convoy of approximately 300 vehicles transporting supplies to the besieged city of Jerusalem. On April 20, 1948, fierce fighting erupted in the Shaar Haguy area, where Zrihan and 13 fellow convoy members were killed. He was buried two days later in the cemetery at Kiryat Anavim.

The breakthrough came after years of investigative work aimed at uncovering Zrihan’s fate. In 2024, the IDF assembled a dedicated investigative team that examined historical archives, interviewed witnesses, carried out sophisticated soil testing, and conducted archaeological surveys at the site. By piecing together evidence from multiple sources, investigators were ultimately able to determine the precise location of his burial in the Harel Brigade military cemetery.

On Tuesday evening, members of Zrihan’s family, including his sisters, were officially informed that the investigation had reached its conclusion and that the decades-old mystery had finally been resolved. Brig. Gen. Edna Eliya, head of the IDF Personnel Directorate’s Casualties Division, personally delivered the news.

In the coming weeks, 78 years after Zrihan fell in battle, the IDF will hold a state military ceremony at the Kiryat Anavim military cemetery, where a memorial marker bearing his name will be placed at his grave.

Reflecting on the completion of the investigation, Brig. Gen. Eliya said, “Following a comprehensive investigation, today we were able to bring an emotional sense of closure. We informed the family of Yaakov Zrihan, of blessed memory, of the investigation’s findings and the location of their loved one, who fell in battle 78 years ago. It is a privilege for us to continue acting out of a deep moral commitment to bring comfort and to accompany bereaved families.”

Yvonne Cohen, Zrihan’s sister, expressed the family’s emotions upon learning the news. “For me, finding my brother’s burial place means everything. I will call my sons so that, for the first time, they will be able to recite Kaddish at his grave.”

{Matzav.com}