The families of 17 Israeli soldiers who went missing during the 1973 war with Egypt landed in Cairo Monday for a memorial ceremony, a source at Cairo airport said, DPA reported.

The families arrived in the Egyptian capital aboard two Israeli military jets and were taken directly to the Gulf of Suez, where they planned to lay wreaths of flowers for their loved ones.

Their visit came a day ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's scheduled talks with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak in Cairo.

Egyptian officials said the families would return to Cairo airport to be taken directly back to Israel.