The IDF later said: “The IDF will continue to work relentlessly, day and night, out of its deep commitment to return all the sons of Israel, dead and missing, to their homeland in Israel.” (Image from X)
An Israeli special forces operation in eastern Lebanon, aiming to find the remains of missing Israeli pilot Ron Arad, resulted in the death of 41 people and the injury of 40 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.The night operation targeted the town of Nabi Sheet in the Bekaa Valley and included air strikes and ground clashes, leaving behind destroyed buildings, torn roofs, and ammunition scattered around a large crater in the area.
Hezbollah ambushed IDF forces that were airdropped to recover the remains of a soldier from a Lebanese town.
Muhammad Musa (55 years old), a resident of the area, told Agence France-Presse during a media visit organized by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group, that “the sounds of the explosions were as if they were from a movie.”
“We later realized that there was a commando operation underway,” he said.
Residents said that the raid led to clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters in the area. The explosions were powerful enough to topple a car onto the second floor of a nearby building, while several homes were severely damaged.The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that the raids on Nabi Sheet and its surrounding areas resulted in the death of 41 people and the injury of 40 others.
The Israeli military said it issued evacuation warnings earlier on Friday, prompting residents to remove children from the town. The mayor of Al-Nabi Sheet, Hani Al-Moussawi, said: “We prepared the children and evacuated them from the town to protect them.”The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Saturday that it had carried out a special operation overnight in Lebanon in an attempt to locate Arad’s remains, but failed to find any trace of the mariner who has been missing since 1986.He said in a statement: “The IDF will continue to work relentlessly, day and night, based on its deep commitment to returning all children of Israel, dead and missing, to Israel.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that although the mission was unsuccessful, Israel remained committed to finding all of its missing soldiers.Arad was arrested after jumping from his plane over Lebanon in 1986, when his fighter plane went down during a mission. He is widely believed to be dead, but his remains have never been found.
