Lebanese authorities say dozens of people were killed when Israeli commandos raided a border region hunting for the remains of a long-missing airman.
Late Friday night, four Israeli helicopters crossed into Lebanese airspace and flew to a border area between Lebanon and Syria, the Lebanese military said in a statement. Two helicopters then landed while there was an “intense and widespread” bombardment of the area which targeted nearby villages, the statement added.
As the Israeli force approached the village of Nabi Chit, the Lebanese military said the commandos engaged in a firefight with Hezbollah militants and local residents. The Lebanese military said the commandos were wearing military uniforms similar to the Lebanese army and used vehicles and ambulances made to look like the Islamic Health Authority.
Hezbollah said in a statement that its fighters had fired on the “enemy infantry force” with “light and medium weapons” as the commandos neared a cemetery in the village’s eastern neighborhood. The Iran-backed militant group said it carried out “concentrated fire” on the Israeli forces as they withdrew from the area.
Social media video from the town of Nabi Chit, geolocated by Reuters, showed a massive crater in the ground after the Israeli operation. Buildings surrounding the crater show extensive damage, and the street is littered with chunks of concrete and rubble.
The Israeli force was searching for the remains of navigator Ron Arad, who has been missing since 1986 after he was forced to eject from his F-4 fighter jet. In 2008, Hezbollah announced Arad was dead. The commando raid was based on intelligence gathered from Ahmad Shuker, a Lebanese security official who was reportedly kidnapped in December, an Israeli source said.
But the soldiers on the ground failed to locate Arad’s remains.
Shawk al-Masri, who lives in the village, told Reuters he endured a “night of hell” as he “heard the helicopters over our house all night.”
“They were so low we thought they would land on us,” he said. “People in the town woke up and started shooting at them, then the warplanes started bombing. It was a very violent night and only calmed down when the sun came up.”
The Lebanese health ministry said the Israeli raid and strikes killed 41 people and wounded 40 more.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that no Israeli soldiers were injured. Asked about Lebanese casualties, the IDF said it was not aware of any casualties based on its information. Pressed on whether Israel carried out airstrikes in conjunction with the commando raid, the IDF claimed that during the event, there were no casualties according to its information.
Tami Arad, the widow of Ron Arad, thanked the government for the effort but urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to do anything that puts soldiers at risk. “For us, the sanctity of life takes priority over the commitment to bring back the remains of a soldier to burial,” she said on Facebook. “As a family, we declared more than once that we object to operations that will risk soldiers.”
The raid came amid intense Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah, launched in the wake of the new conflict with Iran.
