🇮🇱 AFTER 78 YEARS, FALLEN SOLDIER'S BURIAL PLACE IDENTIFIED: The IDF announced that, after a 15-year investigation led by the Missing Persons Unit, the burial place of Pvt. Yaakov Zaryan, who fell during Operation Harel in the 1948 War of Independence, has been identified, bringing closure to a 78-year mystery.
Zaryan immigrated from Casablanca, Morocco, in December 1947 as part of the "Habonim" movement, enlisted in April 1948, and was killed on April 20 while serving as an operational driver in a convoy to besieged Jerusalem through Sha'ar HaGai. He fell alongside 13 comrades.
A special investigation team established in 2024 analyzed historical documents, interviewed witnesses, conducted soil testing, and carried out archaeological surveys. Investigators concluded that Zaryan was buried in the Harel Brigade battalion cemetery at Kiryat Anavim Military Cemetery together with seven other fallen soldiers.
His family has been informed, and the IDF will hold a state military ceremony to dedicate a headstone bearing his name.
Brig. Gen. Edna Ilia said the discovery reflects the IDF's enduring moral commitment to every fallen soldier and every bereaved family.
His sister, Yvonne Cohen, said, "Finding his burial place means the world. My sons will be able to say Kaddish at his grave for the first time."
🛡️ ISRAEL PRESENTS REHABILITATION PLAN TO VENEZUELA: The joint IDF and Israeli Foreign Ministry delegation presented its National Rehabilitation Plan to the President of Venezuela and senior government officials, who approved the plan following the presentation.
Home Front Command engineering teams continued conducting structural assessments alongside local authorities, prioritizing high-rise residential buildings to enable as many residents as possible to return home safely.
The delegation also assessed residential complexes, hospitals, and destruction sites to evaluate structural safety, establish a situational assessment on the ground, restore critical infrastructure, and support the safe return of displaced residents in cooperation with local authorities and relevant local agencies.
🗳️ CHANNEL 13 POLL: A new Channel 13 News poll shows that, for the first time, Gadi Eisenkot's "Yeshar" party surpasses Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud.
Naftali Bennett's party drops by two seats, while the proposed Hendel-Tropper alliance fails to cross the electoral threshold. The overall bloc balance remains unchanged.
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