New details were released on Sunday about the risky and complex operation carried out in the heart of Syria to recover the body of fallen IDF soldier Tzvi Feldman, H’yd, whose recovery 43 years after his death was announced on Sunday morning. Five months ago, shortly before the fall of the Assad regime,  the Mossad dispatched a team of non-Israeli Mossad agents to Syria, where their lives were constantly in danger, Ynet reported. The agents used deceptive tactics to explain their presence in the area where Feldman’s remains were thought to be located, in a cemetery dozens of kilometers from the border. There, the team progressed little by little, fostering relationships with the cemetery guards. Eventually, they found Feldman’s overalls. One of the sources said: “I saw Feldman’s overalls, I felt that this was it, we were in the right place. This was even before the DNA was confirmed.” Once the DNA was confirmed, they brought out the remains in sacks. “It was very complex because they had to get sacks out of there,” a source said. In response to a question from Ynet about what the turning point in the operation was, the source replied: “It happened when the Mossad found a way to work in the location, and allow the cell to feel a little safer doing the activity that is defined as banned [digging]. There are permanent guards there who are instructed to kill anyone who tries to touch these graves. The moment they found a way to appease them, the force was able to work more freely.” The source added that Israeli Mossad agents did not cross into Syria, and there was also no involvement of Russians or Syrian Druze in the operation. The source emphasized that the operation shows the Mossad’s commitment to fallen soldiers, even 43 years later. “We are explaining through our actions to the families that we are not abandoning them,” he said. “It’s not just Sultan Yacoub. There are other open cases, such as Eli Cohen, Ron Arad, Elizabeth Tsurkov in Iraq, and others. We continue to work and will not abandon those in or out of Gaza. This gives perspective to the families.” He noted that “the operation was carried out in cooperation with the IDF on intelligence and operational levels because ultimately the IDF’s assistance is needed to cross the border. Everything was coordinated with the IDF. All the actions were with the assistance of the IDF, working shoulder to shoulder. It was very significant. Without them, the Mossad would not have been able to carry out this operation.” Regarding Eli Cohen, the source said: “That’s a completely different issue. We don’t know where Eli Cohen is buried now. Regardless, we are making great efforts on the issue of Eli Cohen as well, and I hope that soon there will be positive news, not at the level of bringing the remains, but in a positive way from another direction. We are working very hard on it, and along the way, we are receiving additional clues. We are still far from closing the Eli Cohen case.” Regarding Elizabeth Tsurkov, who was abducted in Iraq, the source noted: “The Mossad is handling it. The Mossad is not close to returning her, but we hope to make progress on it. There is […]