The mystery surrounding the final resting place of legendary Israeli spy Eli Cohen has resurfaced after a former Syrian security officer claimed that the Mossad agent may have been buried near an unidentified military barracks outside Damascus.
Saeed Jawish, a Syrian security officer who says he participated in the operation that led to the arrest of Israeli spy Cohen, made the claim in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Majalla published on October 3. According to Jawish, Syrian officials debated where to bury the legendary Israeli spy immediately before his execution because they feared Israel would eventually attempt to recover his remains.
Cohen, one of Israel’s most renowned intelligence operatives, worked inside Syria under the alias Kamel Amin Thabet. Presenting himself as a wealthy Syrian businessman who had returned to Damascus after spending years in Argentina, Israeli spy Cohen developed relationships within Syria’s political and military circles while secretly transmitting intelligence to Israel.
His cover was exposed in January 1965 after Syrian counterintelligence detected his communications with Israel. Cohen was arrested, tried for espionage and publicly hanged in Damascus on May 18, 1965.
For more than six decades, the location of the legendary Israeli spy’s remains has remained a closely guarded mystery.
Jawish said that on the night before Cohen’s execution, he and five other Syrian officers discussed how the Israeli spy should be buried. They reportedly feared that Israel would eventually seek to locate and recover Cohen’s remains.
Syrian officers debated where to hide Cohen’s grave
According to Jawish, a Syrian official named Adnan Tayara proposed burying Cohen at the entrance to a military barracks where permanent security personnel were already stationed. The arrangement, Tayara reportedly argued, would mean that Cohen’s grave would not require separate protection.
Jawish said several military barracks were discussed, but he could not identify which location was ultimately selected. He pointed to Syrian Warrant Officer Melhem Qassem as the person who could know the exact burial site because he was reportedly present when the Israeli spy Cohen was buried.
May 1965: A rare color video is released for the first time, showing Israeli spy Eli Cohen being executed by hanging in Marjah Square in Damascus.🔞
Eli Cohen was a legend in his life and in his death. May his memory be blessed.💔 pic.twitter.com/JGr5Dr1vUx
— Eli Afriat 🇮🇱 (@EliAfriatISR) May 19, 2025
Since Cohen’s execution, Syria has refused to hand over his remains to Israel. Reports have also suggested that the remains of the legendary Israeli spy were moved or reburied several times, apparently making it more difficult for Israel to locate them.
The mystery gained renewed attention in 2025 when Saudi state-run outlet Al-Hadath reported that Cohen’s remains could potentially be returned to Israel as part of an understanding with Syria. The report followed the Mossad’s seizure of approximately 2,500 documents concerning Cohen.
Reuters subsequently reported that Syria’s leadership had approved the possibility of transferring the Israeli spy’s remains to Israel as an effort to ease tensions with Israel and demonstrate goodwill towards US President Donald Trump.
Cohen’s remains have also figured in wider discussions over the recovery of Jewish remains in the region. More recently, Hezbollah-linked Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that Israel and Lebanon had discussed a possible “civilian prisoner exchange deal” during negotiations.
According to that report, Israeli representatives raised the issue of Jewish remains buried in cemeteries in Beirut and Sidon while discussions were taking place over Lebanese prisoners and detainees held by Israel. The talks concerned people classified by Israel as civilians whose links to Hezbollah were unclear but who Israel said posed a threat to Israeli troops. The report followed the latest round of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome, which a source speaking to The Jerusalem Post described as “positive”.
For Israel, locating the remains of the legendary spy Cohen would close one of the country’s most enduring intelligence mysteries. Jawish’s latest account, however, leaves the precise location unresolved, pointing instead to a military barracks somewhere outside Damascus.
