After 78 years, IDF locates burial site of Pvt. Yaakov Zrihan, who went missing in Independence War

The findings follow an investigation by the IDF’s Missing Persons Branch, which further noted that the grave contained the remains of seven additional IDF soldiers.

The remains of IDF soldier Private Yaakov Zrihan, killed during Israel’s War of Independence, were identified after being found in an unmarked mass grave in Kiryat Enavim, the military announced on Wednesday.

The findings follow a 15-year investigation by the IDF’s Missing Persons Branch, which noted that the grave contained the remains of seven additional IDF soldiers.

Zrihan made Aliyah from Casablanca, Morocco, in 1947 with the youth movement and enlisted in the Palmach on April 12, 1948.

According to the IDF, he is believed to have been a member of a convoy to free the besieged city of Jerusalem, and was likely killed near Shaar Hagai on April 20, 1948.

This is a developing story.