The Israeli Intelligence has reportedly conducted an operation in Lebanon recently, looking for an Israeli pilot who had disappeared in Lebanon in 1986 during the war.
Ron Arad was part of an Israeli military operation against the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) when his aircraft was shot down over Lebanese territories on October 16th, 1986.
He was reportedly captured by the Amal militia back then and held prisoner.
According to Al-Arabiya, the Mossad has been looking for answers in Lebanon to the unsolved disappearance of the Israeli pilot, aiming to recuperate his remains. The last sign of life from him was in 1988, two years after being captured. He has since been presumed dead.
The Mossad reportedly extracted DNA from a corpse buried in Al-Nabi Shayth (Nabi Chit) village, in the Bekaa Valley, to see if it was the remains of Arad, according to Al-Arabiya.
They also carried out another operation in Syria for the same purpose. They kidnapped a retired Iranian General and sent him to an African country to interrogate him about Arad’s fate, before releasing him.
These operations were confirmed by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday when he declared that the Mossad has recently led a “huge and complex operation” to find the truth about their missing soldier.
Mossad officials described the mission as a failure. “There was, unfortunately, no breakthrough here,” an Israeli media quoted.
