Who was Eli Cohen? Israel recovers 2,500 belongings of renowned spy who was executed 60 years ago in Syria

Israel recovers Eli Cohen's belongings 60 years after his execution in Syria (Image credit: AP)

Nearly 60 years after his execution, Israel has recovered thousands of items belonging to Eli Cohen, the country’s most renowned spy, who was publicly hanged in Damascus during a covert mission in Syria.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared around 2500 items related to Eli Cohen with his widow, Nadia Cohen on Sunday that marked 60 years since his death.

“We conducted a special operation by the Mossad, by the State of Israel, to bring his (Eli Cohen’s) archive, which had been in the safes of the Syrian intelligence for 60 years,” Netanyahu told Nadia Cohen on Sunday in Jerusalem.

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Benjamin Netanyahu - (@netanyahu) May 18, 2025

Israel has recovered thousands of personal and operational items belonging to its most iconic spy. The materials, returned from Syria, include documents, audio recordings, photographs, and objects gathered by Syrian intelligence following Cohen’s capture in January 1965.

Among the retrieved items are handwritten letters Cohen sent to his family in Israel, surveillance photographs from his time undercover in Syria, and personal belongings taken from his Damascus apartment after his arrest. The collection also features his original will, passports and fake IDs, keys, and folders of handwritten notes.

Detailed Mossad mission files were also among the recovered materials, including surveillance assignments and documentation of efforts by Cohen’s widow, Nadia Cohen, appealing to global leaders for his release.

The return of these artifacts was marked by a formal ceremony in Jerusalem, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Cohen’s execution. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad chief David Barnea presented the items to Nadia Cohen, underscoring the significance of Cohen’s legacy. One of the recovered documents included a letter authorizing Rabbi Nissim Andabo to be with Cohen during his final hours.

However widow of Cohen told the Israeli PM that her greatest wish still remains unfulfilled: "The most important thing was to bring back Cohen's body." To which Netanyahu said Israel was continuing to work on locating Cohen’s body.

Who was Eli cohen? 

Eli Cohen, was born in Egypt in 1924 to Jewish parents, became an instrumental figure in Israeli intelligence during the 1960s. After he was expelled from Egypt at the end of the 1956 Suez Crisis when Israel occupied the Sinai, moved to  Israel in 1957.

Despite facing initial rejections he was recruited by Mossad in 1960, at that tensions were rising with Syria. He was fluent in Arabic and has deep knowledge of Middle Eastern culture made him a valuable asset.

Following intensive training that included weapons handling, sabotage, and mastering the Syrian Arabic dialect. Cohen took the false identity of Kamal Amin Ta’abet, a Syrian businessman based in Beirut. He successfully infiltrated Syrian high society and gained the trust of military officials, eventually becoming an adviser to Syria’s defence minister.

Over four years, Cohen transmitted intelligence back to Israel that proved critical in shaping the country’s defense strategy. His reports played a key role in Israel’s decisive victory during the 1967 Six-Day War, particularly in the capture of the Golan Heights.

However, in January 1965, Syrian counterintelligence intercepted his radio transmissions. He was arrested, tried, and publicly hanged in Damascus’ Marjeh Square on May 18, 1965. Despite Israel’s repeated appeals, his body has never been returned.

(With agency inputs)