Finally home
Soldier Arthur Gessner’s resting place found—76 years after he fell in Israel’s War of Independence
After decades of uncertainty, military investigators have brought a measure of peace to Gasner’s family by solving one of Israel’s oldest unsolved wartime losses.
IDF Spokesperson has reported that after an intensive investigation led by the Missing Persons Branch of the IDF Casualties Division, which lasted over five years, Soldier Arthur Gasner's burial place was finally located. He fell in battle during IDF operations in the eastern Lachish region in April 1949.
On April 20, 1949, as part of an operation initiated by the Negev Brigade in the area of the Lachish-Amatzia hills (near the village of Duwmyah), a platoon from Battalion 8 encountered a group of infiltrators. The encounter developed into a prolonged and fierce battle, in which twelve IDF soldiers fell, three of whom were declared missing: Soldier Arthur Gasner, Soldier Gabriel Maghajji and Soldier Kalman Chapnik.
As a result of intelligence and diplomatic efforts, it was revealed that their bodies had been taken by Arab locals to a cave in the village of Idna, which was then within Jordanian territory. On May 6, 1949, an IDF force was dispatched on a designated operation to retrieve the three fallen from the village of Idna. After several months, it was determined that two of the fallen were Soldier Gabriel Maghajji and Soldier Kalman Chapnik, while Soldier Arthur Gasner, was classified as a fallen soldier whose burial place was unknown.
In 2020, the investigation into the disappearance of Private Arthur Gassner, was renewed, and a special investigative team was established, which carried out numerous and varied investigative actions to locate the burial site of Arthur. The investigation included document analysis, witness interviews, ground analyses, and conducting archaeological surveys.
All of these led to the conclusion that the three missing fighters, including Arthur Gassner, were buried together in a mass grave on May 6, 1949, at the cemetery in Rehovot.
His family, including Arthur's niece, received an update last week from the Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of the Victims Division, Brigadier General Edna Ilia, regarding the conclusion of the investigation. In the near future, the circle will close after 76 years, and a ceremony will be held to add a gravestone cushion in memory of Arthur Gassner, to the mass grave in Rehovot where Gabriel Magnenji and Kalman Chapnik, are buried.