The IDF carried out ground operations in Lebanon aimed at locating items related to the 1986 disappearance of IAF navigator Ron Arad overnight on Friday, the military confirmed on Saturday.
No items related to Arad were uncovered at the scene of the search, the IDF stated, adding that it will “continue to operate tirelessly, day and night, and out of a deep commitment to returning all of our sons, the fallen and the missing, home to Israel.”
Earlier reports from Lebanese news outlet An-Nahar said that IDF helicopters were spotted landing near the village of Nabi Chit in the Bekaa Valley. 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, 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 wounded during the operation.
The IDF confirmed the raid but said there had been no clashes with Hezbollah forces, and no fire was directed at the soldiers.
"Our heroic fighters set out last night on a special operation to locate and return home the navigator Ron Arad, who fell into captivity in Lebanon nearly 40 years ago," said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the operation.
"The operation last night did not yield the findings we were looking for, but the commitment of the State of Israel and my own commitment to complete all the missions regarding our captives and missing is absolute and constant. So it has been, and so it shall be," he added.
Efforts to locate missing Arad
In December, the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that a former Lebanese security officer suspected of being involved in Arad’s disappearance had gone missing.
According to The Daily, Ahmad Shukr was allegedly kidnapped by Israel, a claim that the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) 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 aircraft.
While in captivity, Arad sent three letters home before Israel lost track of his whereabouts in 1988.
Tami Arad asks not to risk lives of Israeli soldiers
On Saturday, Arad’s widow, Tami, wrote on Facebook that “our desire to know what happened to Ron stops as soon as there is risk to IDF soldiers.”
She emphasized that “the sanctity of life comes before the commitment to return the remains of a fighter for burial. This is also our worldview regarding our loved one who disappeared some 40 years ago.”
Tami added, “We thank everyone involved in the intelligence activity concerning Ron. We value the commitment of the State of Israel, yet we request in every way possible: Do not carry out operations that have even minimal risk to the troops.”
Reuters, Miriam Sela Eitam, and Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.