The remains of Private Livka Shefer, who fell during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence battles near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, were finally found after an extensive army investigation, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit on Sunday.
The investigation was headed by the IDF’s Missing In Action Accounting Unit, a section of the Casualty and Wounded Soldiers Department.
During an Egyptian attack involving enemy bombings and infantry invasion, Shefer served as a liason between Israeli defensive positions, and was killed overnight on May 24, 1948. while trying to evacuate a wounded soldier. She was 34 years old at the time of her death.
Shefer was born in Poland in 1914 and made aliyah in 1939, joining the group that ended up founding Yad Mordechai and defended the kibbutz in 1948.
Up until now, Shefer was the only female Israeli-soldier casualty whose burial was unaccounted for.
A cenotaph in her memory was erected at Yad Mordechai’s military cemetery.
A tombstone unveiling will take place in a few weeks, where Shefer’s name will be added to the mass grave at Kibbutz Nitanim, where her remains were found.
