Last updated:November 24, 2024, 1:58 PM IST

The rabbi, an Israeli-Moldavian national, was wanted by the UAE Ministry of Interior, which is also investigating his case.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office called it a criminal anti-Semitic terrorist incident. (Photo: Reuters)

The Israeli government has said the body of a rabbi, who went missing on Thursday, has been found in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), calling it a “criminal anti-Semitic terrorist incident”.

Zvi Kogan, an emissary of the Orthodox Jewish group Chabad, had been missing since Thursday, according to the Israeli prime minister’s office, prompting investigations by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and authorities in the United Arab Emirates.

“The murder of Zvi Kogan is a criminal act of anti-Semitic terrorism. The State of Israel will use all its resources to bring the perpetrators to justice,” read the statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Israeli officials have been in contact with Kogan’s family since his disappearance. Kogan, an Israeli-Moldovan national, was wanted by the United Arab Emirates’ Interior Ministry, which is also investigating his case, British broadcaster BBC reported.

Abu Dhabi, which formalized relations with Israel through the US-brokered Abraham Accords, has maintained this relationship during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

However, Israel’s Travel Council urges citizens to visit the UAE only for “essential reasons,” citing “terrorist activities” that pose a “real risk” to Israelis in the country.