Israel fails to recover pilot’s body, 41 people die in Lebanon

An Israeli special forces operation in eastern Lebanon aimed at finding the body of missing Israeli pilot Ron Arad left 41 people dead and 40 injured, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.The overnight operation targeted the town of Nabish in the Bekaa Valley and involved airstrikes and ground clashes that left buildings destroyed, roofs torn off and ammunition scattered around a large crater in the area.

“The explosion was like something from a movie,” resident Mohammed Mussa, 55, told AFP during a media visit by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group. “We later realized a raid was taking place,” he said.Residents said the attack sparked clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants in the area. The explosion was powerful enough to knock a car into the second floor of a nearby building and severely damaged several homes.The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that 41 people were killed and 40 injured in attacks in Nabishi and surrounding areas.The Israeli military said an evacuation warning had been issued early Friday, prompting residents to move children out of the town. “We are ready to evacuate the children from the town to protect them,” said Nabishi Mayor Hani Moussawi.The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Saturday that they launched a special operation in Lebanon overnight to try to find Arad’s body but failed to find any trace of the navigator, who has been missing since 1986.“The IDF will continue to operate tirelessly day and night with a firm commitment to bringing all the Sons of Israel, the fallen and the missing, back to their homeland in Israel,” the IDF said in a statement.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that while the mission was unsuccessful, Israel remained committed to finding all missing service members.In 1986, Arad was captured after his fighter jet crashed during a mission over Lebanon and he parachuted from the plane. He was widely believed to be dead, but his remains were never found.