An Israeli operation to find clues about a navigator who disappeared 40 years ago has left dozens dead, according to Lebanese officials.
The Lebanese army and state media are one Israeli Commando forces descended on the mountains along the Syrian border and moved to the eastern town of Nabi Chit, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters.
At least 41 people were killed and 40 injured, Lebanon’s health ministry said.
Lebanese army commander General Rudolf Heikal said during the operation that Israeli forces wore Lebanese army uniforms and used ambulances with the insignia of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization.
People inspect damage caused by Israeli airstrikes in Nabi Chit, eastern Lebanon. Image: AP
A resident of Nabi Chit told The Associated Press that the Israeli force entered the town and dug a grave in the cemetery before it left.
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Hezbollah members clashed with Israeli forces, and Israel’s air force carried out nearly 40 airstrikes in the area, enabling it to withdraw ground units.
Israeli army Arabic spokesman Avichai Adray posted on social media that the force had not found Arad’s remains.
Arad went missing after parachuting from a crashed fighter jet Lebanon In 1986. He was involved in operations against suspected Palestinian militants.
Ron Arad, an Israeli navigator who went missing after parachuting from a fighter jet over Lebanon in 1986. Undated handout image: Reuters
A Shiite Muslim faction known as the Believers’ Resistance captured Arad alive after he landed and released some photos of him before all traces of him disappeared.
Arad is believed to have been held in Nabi Chit until 1988, when he disappeared in the village of Maidoun, further south, after a fierce battle between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli forces.
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Meanwhile, Arad’s wife, Tami, has urged Israeli leaders not to risk the lives of Israeli soldiers in their search.
“Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops at the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers,” he wrote on Facebook.
“For 40 years, we have lived with the reality that Ron is missing and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any cost. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us.”
Adrey said there were no casualties among the Israeli forces in the operation.
