The Lebanese Al Mayadeen network reported Saturday morning that Israeli commando forces operated in eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. According to the report, Israeli helicopters arrived in the al-Bekaa region and deployed forces on the ground.
Additional Arab media outlets claimed the operation was connected to a search for the remains of Israeli navigator Ron Arad, based on intelligence recently obtained by the IDF. Lebanese sources also alleged that Israeli paratroopers and commandos wore Lebanese army uniforms as a disguise in case they were discovered by locals.
The Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper Al-Akhbar published footage of a pit that it claims Israeli commandos dug in the cemetery of the Al-Shukar family in the town of Nabi Chit, reportedly "while searching for Ron Arad’s remains prior to the clash with Hezbollah."
Ron Arad was captured by the Amal organization in Lebanon on October 16, 1986, after he was forced to abandon his aircraft during an operational mission in southern Lebanon. He has been considered missing since May 5, 1988, when contact with him was lost. In 2016, Israeli Military Intelligence submitted a report estimating that Arad died in the early years following his disappearance, though not all intelligence officials accepted that conclusion, and some assessments suggested he may have died later.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Saturday evening, "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. For many years we have been pursuing that goal relentlessly."
"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."
Retired Colonel Nissim Yogev, a friend of Arad who flew with him during the mission in which he was captured, commented on the reports in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet.
“The first thing I thought was that it gives hope, but the second thought that came to mind was that I hope this does not cost additional human lives," he said. “I am among those who think that although this story has no ending, it is not worth risking human lives to bring back a body. That is my opinion, and I understand that Tami Arad also thought that way."
“I understand the logic and the timing, but I would not have done it. There is a prime minister here who has other considerations, perhaps even political ones," he added. “I think it is not right to risk lives for bodies and remains. That is my view."