Emmanuel Moreno

Emmanuel Moreno was born in 1971 in Paris

Moreno was born in Paris to Ilan and Sylvia Moreno, immigrants from North Africa. His father came from Morocco and his mother from Tunisia. The family moved to Israel when he was one year old, and he grew up in Jerusalem with his 4 brothers.

He studied at high schools in Jerusalem and then at the Bnei David pre-military academy in Eli. He later earned a law degree at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya while working for the Shin Bet.

He joined the IDF in 1990 and volunteered for Sayeret Matkal, where he served as a career soldier. After starting a law internship, he returned to the unit and later commanded a company. Of his many covert operations, only 2 were cleared for publication: the 1994 abduction of Mustafa Dirani and the 2003 rescue of taxi driver Eliyahu Gorel.

After the ceasefire in the Second Lebanon War, he led a raid near Baalbek. On the way back the force was ambushed by Hezbollah, and he was mortally wounded. He was buried on Mount Herzl, and the military censor bans publication of his photograph.

He lived in Moshav Talmim with his wife Maya, whom he married in 1999, and their 3 children. Many sites across Israel are named after him.