Businessman Kamel Amin Thabet arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus in 1962. He threw lavish parties, became part of the city’s social elite and quickly gained access to the most powerful people in the country. Three years later, he was publicly executed in Marjeh Square in central Damascus. Why? Because Kamel Thabet was Eli Cohen, an elite spy working for Israel’s Mossad.
Israeli authorities are intensifying efforts to recover Cohen’s body. Known as one of Israel’s most famous spies, Cohen’s infiltration of Syria’s political and military elite provided intelligence vital to Israel’s success in the 1967 Six-Day War. Despite decades of efforts, the location of Cohen’s burial site remains unknown, with Syrian authorities reportedly having moved his body several times to prevent its recovery.
Cohen was born in 1924 in Alexandria, Egypt, to a family of Egyptian Jews. Following the establishment of Israel in 1948, Cohen’s family immigrated to the newly established state. Cohen himself followed suit in 1957, after years of Zionist activism, which included allegedly supporting the secret emigration of Egyptian Jews to Israel.
After serving in the Israeli military intelligence service, Cohen was recruited by the Mossad in the early 1960s. Using their fluency in Arabic, Spanish, and French, the Mossad prepared an elaborate cover identity for Cohen. He turned out to be Kamel Amin Thabet, a Syrian businessman whose family had immigrated to Argentina. Cohen relocated to Buenos Aires, where he embedded himself among Arab and Syrian immigrants, gaining trust and access that would later prove vital to his mission.
In 1962, Cohen moved to Damascus under his assumed identity, where he rapidly rose to prominence in Syrian society. Known for hosting lavish parties attended by influential political and military figures, Cohen used these gatherings to gain valuable intelligence. His efforts yielded detailed information about Syrian fortifications in the Golan Heights, which later helped Israel capture the area in the Six-Day War.
However, Cohen’s espionage activities ended abruptly in 1965. Syrian intelligence, with assistance from the Soviet Union, identified his covert radio transmissions to Israel. On January 24, 1965, Syrian authorities raided his home. Cohen was arrested, tried, and convicted on espionage charges.
Despite international pleas for clemency, Cohen was publicly hanged on May 18, 1965.
Since his execution, the whereabouts of Cohen’s body has been a source of controversy. Syria has consistently rejected Israeli requests to return his body, rejecting multiple offers of prisoner exchanges. Syrian authorities have admitted to moving it several times to thwart Israeli recovery efforts.
In 2018, the Mossad successfully recovered Cohen’s wristwatch from Syria.
The fall of the Assad regime in parts of Syria has created new opportunities for dialogue. Reports suggest that Israeli officials, including Mossad director David Barnia, are directly involved in negotiations with former members of the Assad government. These discussions have reportedly been facilitated by Russian mediators.
