Missing Israeli soldier’s body found after 75 years

The body of a young Israeli soldier killed in action the day before Israel declared independence in 1948 has finally been located. The remains of Dov (Berl’e) Broder, an armoured vehicle driver, were identified by the Israel Defence Force’s Missing Soldier Location Wing after a decade-long search. His widow, Batya Broder, now 95, was notified of the discovery last week. The body had lain in a grave in the Segula Cemetery in Petach Tikva, marked as unknown, since the battles of the War of Independence. Broder was a member of the 33rd Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade tasked with capturing the Palestinian village of Kafr Saba (now the Israeli city Kfar Saba) on May 13, 1948. During the mission, Broder’s armoured vehicle was hit by shelling, killing him, though his body was never identified. He was recognised as a fallen soldier whose remains were missing. In all, 29 soldiers were killed in the fighting, but the village was captured by Israeli forces. In 2006, the Missing Soldier Location Wing launched an investigation to identify the fallen soldier who was buried in the Segula Cemetery grave. Dov Broder and his wife Batya Broder in 1947 Dov was killed during a battle in 1948 Credit Israel Defense Forces Dov Broder and his wife Batya Broder in 1947 (Photo: IDF) The complex investigation included inspecting old documents and questioning surviving witnesses. Mrs Broder and other members of the family were given the news by the head of the IDF Manpower Directorate, Maj Gen Yaniv Asor. A ceremony will take place shortly in which Broder’s name will replace the name “unknown” etched on the grave until now. Maj Gen Asor said: “Seventy-five years after Dov Broder’s death in the War of Independence, we found his place of burial. “This is closure and the IDF and the State of Israel’s ethical and moral obligation to Dov, who gave his life for the foundation of Israel, to his widow and family, who lost the thing most dear to them. “The IDF, the Manpower Directorate, and the Missing Soldier Location Wing will continue to do what is needed to set a gravestone for the soldiers whose place of burial is unknown.”

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