Israeli MIAs


Israeli MIA are members of the Israel Defense Forces who are missing in action. Despite efforts to locate and repatriate them, their whereabouts remain unknown. Every year, a state ceremony is held at Mount Herzl, Israel's military cemetery in Jerusalem.

IDF prisoners of war

In the Yom Kippur War 301 Israelis were captured by Syria and Egypt, 232 of whom by the Egyptians, 65 by the Syrians and 4 by the Lebanese. The majority of them were captured in the first stage of that war. Some Israeli soldiers reported after their release about the difficult conditions they faced: they were severely beaten by their captors, sometimes making them unconscious, while many reported that they were being investigated under torture.

Known Israeli MIAs

During the Hamas October 7 invasion of Israel, 251 people were abducted from Israel into the Gaza strip. Of these, at least 23 were IDF soldiers, while the rest were Israeli civilians, and foreign workers. Seven of the soldiers taken hostage were taken from the Nahal Oz military base, near the Kibbutz Nahal Oz, during the Nahal Oz attack. All seven were females. One was rescued three weeks after being taken hostage, the body of another was recovered in November 2023, and the other five were released in January 2025 as part of the second Gaza war ceasefire. The remainder of the soldiers taken captive include Colonel Asaf Hamami, the highest ranking officer whose body was abducted, Sergeant Major Muhammad Alatrash an Israeli from the Bedouin community, and Edan Alexander, an Israeli-American citizen. Alexander was released on May 12, 2025 as a "gesture of goodwill toward US President Donald Trump."

Recovered MIAs and KIAs

The remains of several Israeli soldiers missing and killed in action have been recovered.
NameDate Missing/KilledCircumstanceDate RecoveredCircumstance
Arthur Gasner20 April 1949Killed and body taken to Idna6 May 1949 /
15 May 2025
Gasner's body was recovered 6 May 1949 along with the bodies of his fellow soldiers. His body was identified 15 May 2025, having been considered an MIA for 76 years.
Zechariah Baumel10–11 June 1982Battle of Sultan Yacoub4 April 2019Operation Bittersweet Song
Tzvi Feldman10–11 June 1982Battle of Sultan Yacoub11 May 2025Mossad Operation
Nachshon Wachsman9 October 1994Abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman14 October 1994Rescue Attempt
Ehud Goldwasser12 July 2006Operation Truthful Promise16 July 2008Prisoner Exchange
Eldad Regev12 July 2006Operation Truthful Promise16 July 2008Prisoner Exchange
Gilad Shalit25 June 20062006 Gaza cross-border raid18 October 2011Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange
Oron Shaul20 July 2014Battle of Shuja'iyya19 January 2025ISA/Shabak Operation
Hadar Goldin1 August 20142014 Gaza War9 November 2025Returned by Hamas in accordance to the Gaza peace plan

Procedure and guidelines

According to Reuben Yardor, a military intelligence leader of the Yom Kippur War, the automatic assumption they made was that all that's known to their captured soldiers is also known to the captors.
Several publicized stories of Israeli prisoners of war were: