Israel sent commandos into Lebanon disguised as Lebanese soldiers to dig up a grave, and 41 people are dead because of what they were looking for

An unusual Israeli commando operation in Lebanon has left 41 people dead and 40 wounded. The mission involved soldiers disguised as Lebanese army troops and ambulances marked with Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization insignia. The goal was to find the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli navigator who went missing 40 years ago after his jet crashed in Lebanon.

According to Sky News, Lebanese authorities said the Israeli force landed in the mountains near the Syrian border. The troops then moved to Nabi Chit, a town in eastern Lebanon, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed the death and injury toll from the confrontation.

General Rudolphe Haikal, commander of the Lebanese army, said the commandos wore Lebanese army uniforms during the operation. A resident of Nabi Chit told reporters that the Israeli force entered the town, dug up a grave in a local cemetery, and then withdrew. The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, later posted on social media confirming that the force did not find Arad’s remains. The Israeli force suffered no casualties.

Israel’s 40-year search for Ron Arad has clearly remained a top national priority

Ron Arad disappeared in 1986 after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon during an operation targeting suspected Palestinian militants. A Shiite Muslim faction called the Believers’ Resistance captured him alive after he landed and released some photos of him early on, but all traces of him then vanished. 

The broader conflict in the region continues to escalate, as seen in Iran’s newly announced supreme leader already being wounded shortly after taking power. Arad was widely believed to have been held in Nabi Chit until 1988. After that, he disappeared following a battle between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in the village of Meidoun, further south. 

Hezbollah confirmed its members clashed with the Israeli unit during this recent operation and said the Israeli air force carried out around 40 airstrikes in the area to cover the ground unit’s withdrawal. Ron Arad’s wife, Tami, has publicly urged Israel’s leaders not to risk the lives of soldiers in the search for him. 

She posted on social media saying, “Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers.” Regional tensions have been running high, with Iran firing precision missiles at a Bahrain base after accusing the US of destroying critical infrastructure.

She added, “For 40 years, we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any price. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us.”

Despite the heavy casualties on the Lebanese side and the elaborate nature of the operation, the mission produced no results. The Israeli force returned without finding any remains or new information about Arad’s fate.