41 dead in a failed Israeli operation in Lebanon to rescue the remains of a soldier captured decades ago | International

Israel’s failed attempt to obtain the remains of an Israeli military pilot captured in 1986 after jumping from his plane during the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) it ended this morning in massacre: 41 dead, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. A figure that makes it the most serious incident in that country’s territory since the escalation of hostilities with Hezbollah last Monday. It has been the largest incursion by Israeli troops into the country since 2024, when they fought a war for more than two months with the pro-Iran militia, and which the truce agreement failed to close.

The account of local witnesses and Hezbollah coincides: four Israeli helicopters moved during Friday night to Nabi Chit, a municipality in eastern Lebanon, located 85 kilometers north of Israel. In that area, far from the border strip where fighting is taking place due to Israeli efforts to advance its occupation of the south, the Israeli commando landed in a mountainous area around 10:30 p.m. on Friday night. According to a statement from the militia, the uniformed men traveled by land to Nabi Chit, and when they approached the cemetery, around midnight, the fighting began.

The Lebanese state news agency reports that “local residents” joined Hezbollah (which exercises authority in the area in fact) to repel the Israeli commando with weapons. The agency speaks of “horrifying scenes”, with bombings on “neighborhoods, streets and public spaces” and how Israeli forces fired dozens of missiles before the operation “to divert attention.” Then, in the midst of the clashes, they launched dozens of other attacks to “cut off supply lines and resistance movements (Hezbollah)” and prevent the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.

In the early afternoon, the Israeli army confirmed that the early morning raid on Nabi Chit was aimed at recovering the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli military pilot captured after jumping from his plane during Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1990). “As part of the army’s activities in Lebanon, army special forces have operated overnight in an attempt to find the remains of the missing Ron Arad,” it said in a statement. The armed forces reported that “no remains related to him were found at the search site,” but that they will continue searching for him “incessantly, day and night.” Although some videos on social networks showed armed confrontations, the army indicates that no one was injured in the attempt.

Local media claim that Israeli soldiers – dressed in the uniform of the regular Lebanese army – came to open graves in the Nabi Chit cemetery, located in the part of the municipality where the family of the former combatant supposedly involved in the capture of the pilot, has roots. This town, along with the Beirutian suburbs and the south of the country, has been the target of mass eviction orders by the Israeli army.

According to Hezbollah, the helicopters arrived from Syria, where the Israeli army occupies new territories since the fallin 2024, from the Government of Bashar al-Assad, in addition to the Golan Heights, which he already took in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The list of casualties in the clashes includes three soldiers from the regular Lebanese army. This institution, which remains neutral in the conflict, works on the disarmament of Hezbollah within the framework of the objective of achieving a weapons monopoly, which the Government approved in 2025, under strong pressure from various countries (mainly the United States) to link the arrival of reconstruction funds to its fulfillment.

It has been a month since Lebanese authorities declared the south free of Hezbollah weapons. This Saturday, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, accused the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, of violating the ceasefire. “You committed to comply with the agreement and disarm Hezbollah, and it is not happening,” he said. And he issued a threat: “Act and enforce it before we do more.” For now, comes from issuing an unprecedented eviction order in Beirut that affects 700,000 peoplein addition to another in southern Lebanon affecting another 250,000. This Saturday, the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs put the number of people who have registered as displaced at 454,000, suggesting that the real number is higher.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health registers 294 deaths from Israeli attacks since Monday, when Hezbollah entered the scene (in support of Iran) with its first projectiles since 2024 against the neighboring country. Despite the ceasefire agreementIsrael never stopped bombing the country during that period, almost daily, causing more than half a thousand deaths.

unwritten agreement

Arad’s case is iconic in a militaristic country, with mandatory military service for men and women, and an unwritten pact with the population that the State will do everything possible to recover (dead or alive) the fallen or hostages. “For many years we have pursued that goal relentlessly,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the conclusion of the sabbatical. “Last night’s operation did not yield the results we were looking for, but the commitment of the State of Israel and myself to complete all missions related to our captives and missing persons is absolute and constant.”

It is known that, in 1986, Arad was preparing to bomb Palestine Liberation Organization targets in Beirut when a bomb exploded prematurely and he had to parachute. He was captured by the Amal group – which announced it and asked to negotiate – and apparently handed it over to the other major Shiite armed faction, Hezbollah. The soldier sent three handwritten letters and the Israeli Government attempted to release him until 1988, but they lost track of him. There are reports that he died trying to escape, that he was taken to Iran… In any case, it is assumed that he is dead, although he is still officially listed as missing in action.

His case recently resurfaced. An apparent operation by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency abroad, ended in December with the kidnapping in northeastern Lebanon of Ahmed Shukr, a retired security agent and brother of a former fighter for the Shiite group Amal, allegedly involved in the capture of the pilot. Shukr is one of more than 20 Lebanese that Israel holds by force, half of which it kidnapped after the signing of the ceasefire in November 2024.