Reported Israeli commando raid deep in Lebanon said aimed at recovering remains of Ron Arad |
Clashes reportedly erupted overnight Saturday in eastern Lebanon as Israeli forces attempted a helicopter landing near the Lebanese-Syrian border, with the Saudi al-Hadath channel claiming the operation was aimed at recovering the remains of missing Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad.
The IDF had no comment on the raid.
Lebanese state media and Hezbollah reported that Israeli troops attempted to land in the Hezbollah stronghold of Nabi Chit in the Baalbek district, triggering exchanges of fire with the Iran-backed group’s fighters.
The state-run National News Agency (NNA), citing the Lebanese health ministry, said Israeli strikes on Nabi Chit killed at least 16 people and wounded 35 others.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had “observed the infiltration of four Israeli enemy army helicopters from the Syrian direction.”
After landing, advancing troops “were engaged by a group” of Hezbollah fighters as they reached the Nabi Chit cemetery, Hezbollah said, noting the use of light and medium weapons.
لحظة تصدّي المقاومة اللبنانية لطائرات الاحتلال في سماء بلدة النبي شيت جنوبي لبنان pic.twitter.com/4BlIjJtnGv — شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 6, 2026
لحظة تصدّي المقاومة اللبنانية لطائرات الاحتلال في سماء بلدة النبي شيت جنوبي لبنان pic.twitter.com/4BlIjJtnGv
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) March 6, 2026
Hezbollah claimed that Israeli forces responded with heavy airstrikes before evacuating the troops, and later said its fighters fired rockets as the Israeli forces withdrew.
Footage shared on social media showed waves of gunfire in the air.
Another video published by Lebanese media purported to show Israeli troops and helicopters in the area. A later video appeared to show a hole in the ground that the troops dug at the edge of a local cemetary.
مشاهد للمقبرة التي فتحها الجيش الإسرائيلي خلال عملية الإنزال ليلاً في النبي شيت pic.twitter.com/5m1VgYhjKb — Al Modon – المدن (@almodononline) March 7, 2026
مشاهد للمقبرة التي فتحها الجيش الإسرائيلي خلال عملية الإنزال ليلاً في النبي شيت pic.twitter.com/5m1VgYhjKb
— Al Modon – المدن (@almodononline) March 7, 2026
Saudi outlet al-Hadath, without citing sources, said the raid may have been an attempt to recover the remains of Arad.
Arad’s plane went down over southern Lebanon in October 1986, during the country’s 1975-1990 civil war. He was believed to have initially been captured and held by the Shiite Amal movement.
He has long been presumed dead, but his remains were never returned.
Israel believes that after being held for a period by the Amal group, Arad was handed over to Tehran, and was moved from Lebanon to Iran and then back again.
Several signs of life were received in the first two years of his incarceration, including photos and letters, the last of which was sent on May 5, 1988.
He has been presumed dead since the mid-1990s, although intelligence reports have differed as to the circumstances, timing and location of his death.
Arad was allegedly held in the Nabi Chit area following his disappearance, and Israel has conducted searches in the area in the past in efforts to locate his remains.
Lebanese authorities also reported that in December, a retired Lebanese security officer from Nabi Chit who had ties to Arad’s capture disappeared.
وثّق مقطع فيديو من كاميرات المراقبة محاولة إنزال نفذها الجيش الإسرائيلي في منطقة #النبي_شيت البقاعية pic.twitter.com/DbpqMlvNra Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#336x280_Middle_3")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: [] }; tude.cmd.push(function() { if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf("rgbmedia-app") > -1){ tude.setDeviceType("mobile"); } tude.refreshAdsViaDivMappings([ { divId: '336x280_Middle_3', baseDivId: '336x280_Middle_3', } ]); }); } — لبنان الكبير (@grandlb) March 6, 2026
وثّق مقطع فيديو من كاميرات المراقبة محاولة إنزال نفذها الجيش الإسرائيلي في منطقة #النبي_شيت البقاعية pic.twitter.com/DbpqMlvNra
— لبنان الكبير (@grandlb) March 6, 2026
If confirmed, the latest reported raid would be the deepest Israeli forces have reached inside Lebanon since special unit troops apprehended Hezbollah operative Imad Amhaz from the northern city of Batroun in November 2024.
The reported operation came as Israel carried out numerous strikes and deployed ground forces into Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel earlier this week, saying the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Nabi Chit was also the target of at least 13 Israeli airstrikes on Friday, according to the NNA, with the Lebanese health ministry reporting at least nine people killed.
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