BEIRUT — An Israeli special force landed overnight in the eastern Lebanese town of Nabi Chit, searching for information about Ron Arad, a navigator who has been missing since 1986. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded in the fighting. The Israeli military said Saturday that the force found neither Arad’s remains nor any evidence of his fate.
Arad’s disappearance has driven covert Israeli operations into Lebanon for four decades. The Nabi Chit raid—the deadliest such attempt yet—was conducted amid the broader Israel-Iran war that began Feb. 28, adding another front of violence to a region already engulfed in conflict.
The Operation
The Lebanese army and state media said the Israeli commando force landed in the mountains along the border with Syria before heading to Nabi Chit. The Lebanese army said four helicopters took part, two of which conducted the landing.
Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolphe Haikal said the Israeli force wore Lebanese army uniforms and used ambulances bearing signs of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization during the operation. A resident of Nabi Chit told the Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity citing security concerns, that the force entered the town and dug up a grave in a cemetery before departing.
Hezbollah said its members clashed with the Israeli force, and that Israel’s air force conducted some 40 airstrikes in the area to allow the ground unit to withdraw. The Lebanese army said residents also clashed with the Israeli force while Lebanese troops went on alert.
Three Lebanese soldiers were among those killed in the exchange of fire, the Lebanese army said. Israeli military Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X that the Israeli force did not suffer any casualties.
No Trace of Arad Found
Adraee said the Israeli force “did not find Arad’s remains or any evidence related to him.”
Arad’s wife urged Israel’s leaders not to endanger soldiers in the search. “Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers,” Tami Arad wrote on Facebook. “For 40 years we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any price. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us.”
Four Decades of Uncertainty
Arad went missing in 1986 after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon while he was involved in attacking suspected Palestinian militants. He was captured alive by local gunmen. A Shiite Muslim faction called the Believers’ Resistance captured him after he landed and released some photos of him before all traces disappeared.
Arad was believed to have been held in Nabi Chit until 1988, after which he went missing following a battle between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in the village of Meidoun to the south.
In 1994, helicopter-borne Israeli commandos landed deep in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley and seized Mustafa Dirani, the leader of the Believers’ Resistance. Dirani was released 10 years later in a prisoner exchange with Hezbollah.
In 2008, Hezbollah sent a report through mediators suggesting that Arad most likely died after escaping from his captors while trying to reach Israel. Israeli media published the report at the time.
In December, a retired Lebanese officer, Ahmed Shukr, disappeared in eastern Lebanon while meeting people who wanted to buy a plot of land. His family told the Associated Press they believe Israeli operatives kidnapped him to obtain information about Arad’s fate. Shukr’s wife and brother said the retired officer does not have any information about what happened to Arad.
Additional Strikes Across Southern Lebanon
Saturday morning airstrikes hit multiple villages in southern Lebanon. A strike on Jibchit killed six people, including four members of the same family, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. Five people were killed in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah. Israel’s air force also struck Arab Saleem.
The strikes are the latest since fighting between Israel and Hezbollah resumed earlier this week. Hezbollah fired rockets and drones into Israel in retaliation after Israel and the United States began attacking Iran on Feb. 28, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering the current round of conflict across the region.