Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency has recovered 2,500 documents and personal items belonging to Israeli spy Eli Cohen in a secret operation inside Syria. 

The Prime Minister’s Office announced the recovery on Sunday, the 60th anniversary of Eli’s execution in Damascus on May 18, 1965. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director David Barnea presented the archive, kept locked away by Syria for decades, to Eli’s widow, Nadia Cohen, in Jerusalem.

Eli was an Israeli spy who posed as a Syrian businessman in the 1960s. He developed close ties with Syria’s top officials and passed valuable intelligence to Israel. His information helped Israel prepare for the 1967 Six-Day War.

He was arrested in 1965 while transmitting information to Israel and was convicted and publicly hanged in Damascus. His body has never been returned.

According to officials, the materials recovered include handwritten letters Eli sent to his family, photos from his time undercover in Syria, forged passports, and intelligence orders from the Mossad. Also recovered were Eli’s apartment keys, personal items, and the original court ruling that sentenced him to death.

Some of the documents show Eli meeting with senior Syrian officials. Others detail Mossad missions he carried out, including surveillance of Syrian military positions.

The archive also includes Syrian records of Nadia’s efforts to save her husband. One file documented her appeals to international leaders, including a direct plea to Syria’s president.

At Sunday’s ceremony, Netanyahu called Eli Israel’s greatest intelligence agent. Barnea said the operation was a “moral and national achievement.”

Nadia told the prime minister that recovering her husband’s body remains the most important goal. Netanyahu said efforts to bring his remains home are ongoing.

The items recovered will be preserved by Israeli authorities as part of the country’s intelligence history, according to Israeli authorities.