Israel sent special forces to a village in eastern Lebanon in a commando operation linked to the long-missing pilot Ron Arad, sparking clashes and air strikes that killed more than 40 Lebanese.
The Israeli army, Lebanese Armed Forces and Hezbollah all confirmed they were involved in the overnight events, which saw hours of fighting inside the village of Nabi Chit and drew in armed residents.
The daring operation came in the midst of the war between Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted on Monday after the Iran-backed group joined Iran’s conflict with the US and Israel, following months of inaction despite continued Israeli strikes on its positions and fighters.
According to the Lebanese army, four Israeli helicopters were detected at night flying over the Khraibeh area near Baalbek, along the Lebanese-Syrian border. Two of the aircraft dropped Israeli troops while intense air strikes hit nearby villages.
Lebanese military units launched illumination flares to identify the landing zone, but the Israeli troops had already moved from the area. The army said the landing was followed by heavy bombardment and sweeping fire around the site.
The Israeli unit later moved towards the town of Nabi Chit where clashes erupted with locals. The operation continued until about 3am local time, according to the army.
Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in the heavy Israeli strikes that accompanied the raid, the army said. It marked the first Lebanese army deaths since the Israel-Hezbollah conflict reignited. The Lebanese army is not involved in the fighting with Israel, but has still regularly come under attack in the last two years.
The Israeli army confirmed that its special forces operated overnight in an attempt to make findings related to the missing pilot. No injuries were reported and no findings related to him were made at the search site, the army said.
Ron Arad is an Israeli air force officer who disappeared in Lebanon in 1986 and became one of Israel’s most enduring missing-in-action cases.
Hezbollah confirmed its fighters clashed with Israeli commandos. The group said the direct clashes happened near a cemetery in Nabi Chit shortly before midnight. Israeli aircraft then launched about 40 strikes in the area to provide cover for the withdrawal of the commandos.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said the strikes on the town and surrounding villages in Lebanon’s eastern Baalbek district killed at least 41 people and wounded 40. Rescue teams were continuing to clear rubble and search for survivors after the strikes
“Last night was so crazy,” a resident of a nearby village told The National.
Video posted online showed gunfire from the ground towards the air, seemingly aimed at the Israeli aircraft that can be heard above.
Elsewhere, a family of six were killed in Israeli air strikes on the village of Shmustar in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said.
The family, a father, mother and four children, had been displaced from the city of Baalbek and were taking refuge in a residential building in Shmustar. The Israeli military bombed the building at dawn in the Dahr Al Sawan neighbourhood and destroyed it.
Hezbollah has joined the war in support of Iran after Israel and the US launched attacks on Tehran. Israeli attacks have killed more than 250 people in Lebanon since the war spilled over into the country, according to official figures.
On Saturday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Lebanon and its government will “pay the full price” if Hezbollah’s attacks along the northern border persist.
He had a direct message for Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, accusing him of failing to implement a prior agreement to rein in Hezbollah. “You pledged to uphold the agreement and disarm Hezbollah - and this is not happening. Do and act, before we do even more,” Mr Katz said.
“The one who will pay the full price is the Lebanese government and Lebanon as a whole."
