IDF soldier killed in 1948 Battle of the Roads identified after 78 years
Nearly eight decades after he was killed in Israel's War of Independence, the remains of IDF soldier Private Yaakov Zrihan have been positively identified, allowing his family to finally learn his fate.
The IDF Missing Persons Branch announced this week that forensic investigators identified Zrihan's remains from among those discovered in a mass grave at Kiryat Anavim in 2011. Seven other sets of remains were found in the same grave, and efforts to determine their identities are still underway.
Zrihan’s family was informed of the findings by IDF Chief Human Resources Officer and Casualty Brigade Chief Brig.-Gen. Edna Ilya. A state ceremony is being planned to commemorate his life and military service.
“It is our privilege to continue to act out of a deep moral obligation to bring comfort and accompany the bereaved families,” Ilya said.
Zrihan’s sister, Yvonne Cohen, said the identification meant “the world” to her and provided long-awaited closure regarding her brother’s fate. She said she plans to recite Kaddish at his grave with her sons.
According to the IDF, the investigation involved a complex search for evidence, including the analysis of historical documents, locating and interviewing witnesses who may have seen the events surrounding the soldiers’ deaths, soil analysis, archaeological surveys, and advanced forensic testing.
The identification of Zrihan’s remains is the latest achievement in the IDF’s decades-long effort to locate and identify soldiers whose fates remained unknown from Israel’s early wars. The effort combines historical research, witness accounts, archaeology, and modern forensic science to provide answers for families many years later.
Little is known about Zrihan’s early life. He immigrated to Israel from Casablanca, Morocco, in 1947 as part of a Zionist youth movement, during a period of large-scale Jewish immigration when limited personal records were kept for many new arrivals.
He enlisted in the Palmach – the elite strike force of the pre-state Jewish defense organization that later became part of the IDF – on April 12, 1948. Eight days later, on April 20, Zrihan joined an armed escort for a convoy transporting supplies from Tel Aviv to the besieged Jewish community in Jerusalem during the campaign known as the Battle of the Roads.
The convoy came under attack near Shaar Hagai – known in Arabic as Bab al-Wad and in English as the “Gate of the Valley” – where the IDF believes Zrihan was killed in action.
The Battle of the Roads was one of the defining campaigns of Israel’s War of Independence. Jewish forces fought to keep the road to Jerusalem open as Arab forces repeatedly attacked convoys attempting to reach the besieged city with food, fuel, and other essential supplies.
The battle remains central to Israel’s national memory and is commemorated today at memorial sites along the Shaar Hagai section of Route 1, the main highway connecting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Visitors can still see preserved remains of trucks, armored vehicles, and jeeps destroyed during the fighting.
The campaign has also been memorialized in books and films, including the 1966 drama "Cast a Giant Shadow," starring Kirk Douglas as Mickey Marcus, the Jewish West Point graduate and World War II veteran who volunteered to fight for Israel during the 1948 war and was later killed while helping establish an alternative supply route to Jerusalem.
The Israeli folk song “Bab Al-Wad” likewise commemorates the battle and has since been recorded by numerous Israeli artists.
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