IDF attempts operation related to Ron Arad disappearance in Lebanon - report
According to Lebanese news outlet An-Nahar, IDF soldiers were seen carrying out a ground operation in a cemetery suspected to have a connection to Ron Arad's 1986 disappearance.
The IDF carried out ground operations in Lebanon aimed at locating the remains of missing Israeli fighter pilot Ron Arad overnight on Friday, according to a report from Lebanese news outlet An-Nahar.
According to An-Nahar, IDF helicopters were spotted landing near the Nabi Chit village in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. The helicopters reportedly entered Lebanon from across the Syrian border.
Israeli troops were then seen entering a cemetery in the village, where they were spotted by Hezbollah terrorists in the area, who began exchanging fire with the IDF soldiers.
According to An-Nahar, it is suspected that the cemetery in Nabi Chit has some connection to Arad’s disappearance.
According to Lebanon's health ministry, at least 16 people were killed, and 35 were injured during the Nabi Chit operation.
Efforts to locate missing Arad
In December, the London-based newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that a former Lebanese security officer suspected of being involved with Arad’s kidnapping had gone missing.
According to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ahmad Shukr was allegedly kidnapped by Israel, a claim that the Shin Bet and Mossad declined to comment on at the time.
Arad was captured on October 16, 1986, by the Lebanese Shi’ite group Amal after the aircraft in which he was flying was damaged, forcing him and the plane’s pilot to escape the plane.
While in captivity, Arad sent three letters home before Israel lost track of his whereabouts in 1988.
Reuters, Miriam Sela Eitam, and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.