Dozens killed in Lebanon as Israel searches for signs of navigator missing for 40 years

BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli special force that landed in eastern Lebanon overnight in search of information about a navigator who has been missing for nearly 40 years did not find his remains, the Israeli military said Saturday. The operation left dozens of people dead and dozens more wounded.

Israel has been trying for decades to find out what happened to Ron Arad since he went missing after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon in 1986. Arad was involved in attacking suspected Palestinian militants. He was captured alive by local gunmen.

The Israeli military did not say where the force landed in Lebanon but the Lebanese army and state media said an Israeli commando force landed on the mountains along the border with Syria before heading to the eastern town of Nabi Chit, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded overnight in Nabi Chit and areas nearby.

The Lebanese army said three soldiers were among those killed in the exchange of fire. It said four helicopters took part in the operation, two of which conducted the landing. It also reported that residents clashed with the Israeli force while Lebanese troops went on alert and fired light bombs.

Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolphe Haikal said later Friday that the Israeli force that conducted the operation was dressed in Lebanese army uniforms and used ambulances during the operation with signs of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization.

A resident of Nabi Chit told The Associated Press that the Israeli force entered the town and dug up a grave in a cemetery before it left. The man who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns had no further details.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X that the force did not find Arad's remains or any evidence related to him.

Hezbollah said its members clashed with the Israeli force, and that Israel’s air force conducted some 40 airstrikes in the area in order for the unit on the ground to be able to withdraw.

Arad's wife urged Israel’s leaders not to endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers in their search to bring home his body.

“Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers,” his wife, Tami, wrote on Facebook, noting that the family has said this multiple times through the years.

“For 40 years we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any price. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us,” she added.

Adraee said the Israeli force did not suffer any casualties.

A Shiite Muslim faction called the Believers’ Resistance captured Arad after he landed, and released some photos of him early on before all traces of him disappeared.

Arad was believed to have been held in Nabi Chit until 1988, after which he went missing following a fierce battle between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in the village of Meidoun further south.

In December, a retired Lebanese officer, Ahmed Shukr, disappeared in eastern Lebanon while meeting some people who wanted to buy a plot of land. His family believes Israeli operatives kidnapped him to get information about the case and took him to Israel.

Shukr’s wife and brother told The Associated Press recently that the retired officer does not have any information about Arad’s fate.

In 1994, helicopter-borne Israeli commandos landed deep in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, where they seized the leader of the Believers’ Resistance, Mustafa Dirani, and took him to Israel. Dirani was released 10 years later in a prisoners exchange with Hezbollah.

In 2008, Hezbollah sent to Israel through mediators a report about Arad in which it suggested that he most likely died after escaping from his captors while trying to reach Israel. The Hezbollah report was published by Israeli media outlets at the time.

Elsewhere in Lebanon, Israel’s air force conducted strikes on different parts of eastern and southern Lebanon.

The new airstrikes were the latest since the last round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah began Monday. The Iran-backed group fired rockets and drones into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after Israel and the U.S. began attacking Iran on Feb. 28, triggering the latest war in the Middle East.

On Saturday morning, airstrikes were reported on the southern villages of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Arab Saleem and Jibchit. The strike on Jibchit killed six people, including four members of the same family, while in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah five people were killed state news agency said.

Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Israel.

A grave, background, dug by Israeli forces landed overnight late Friday, searching for Israeli co-pilot Ron Arad who was captured and then went missing after his fighter jet crashed over south Lebanon in 1986, in Nabi Chit village, eastern Lebanon, Saturday, March 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ali Salem)

People check the damage left by Israeli airstrikes late Friday, in the village of Nabi Chit, eastern Lebanon, Saturday, March 7, 2026, where Israeli forces landed overnight and dug a grave in a cemetery searching for Israeli co-pilot Ron Arad who was captured and then went missing after his fighter jet crashed over south Lebanon in 1986. (AP Photo/Ali Salem)

People check the damage left by Israeli airstrikes, Saturday, March 7, 2026 in the village of Nabi Chit, eastern Lebanon late Friday, where Israeli forces landed overnight and dug a grave in a cemetery searching for Israeli co-pilot Ron Arad who was captured and then went missing after his fighter jet crashed over south Lebanon in 1986. (AP Photo/Ali Salem)

People check the damage left by Israeli airstrikes, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in the village of Nabi Chit, eastern Lebanon late Friday, where Israeli forces landed overnight and dug a grave in a cemetery searching for Israeli co-pilot Ron Arad who was captured and then went missing after his fighter jet crashed over south Lebanon in 1986. (AP Photo/Ali Salem)

A huge crater left by an Israeli airstrike in the village of Nabi Chit, eastern Lebanon late Friday, March 6, 2026, where Israeli forces landed overnight and dug a grave in a cemetery searching for Israeli co-pilot Ron Arad who was captured and then went missing after his fighter jet crashed over south Lebanon in 1986. (AP Photo/Ali Salem)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Vladimir Petkovic has signed an extension to remain as coach of the Algerian national team through July 2028, the country's soccer federation announced shortly before its departure Sunday for the United States and the start of the World Cup.

The extension comes four days after the Desert Foxes beat the Netherlands 1-0 in a friendly in Rotterdam, and just ahead of a final World Cup tune-up against Bolivia on Wednesday night.

Algeria will play its opening match at the World Cup against defending champion Argentina on June 16 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.

Originally from Bosnia but a longtime Swiss resident, the 62-year-old Petkovic had a long run as coach of Switzerland before a brief stint leading French club Bordeaux. Petkovic was hired by Algeria in February 2024 after it missed two World Cups, and he quickly turned the Desert Foxes into one of the top teams in Africa.

Members of the Algerian technical staff, including assistant coach Davide Morandi, goalkeeping coach Guido Nanni and head trainer Paolo Rongoni, also had their contracts extended through July 2028.

Algeria planned to practice Sunday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Center near Algiers before departing for Kansas City later in the day. The team will make its home base at the University of Kansas in nearby Lawrence for the duration of the World Cup.

Its first practice at the school's Rock Chalk Park soccer complex is scheduled for Monday.

After their World Cup opener against Argentina, the Desert Foxes play Jordan on June 22 in Santa Clara, California. Their final group match is June 27 against Austria at Arrowhead Stadium, which is about an hour drive from their Lawrence training base.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Algeria players celebrate after Algeria's Anis Hadj Moussa scored his side's opening goal during the international friendly soccer match between Netherlands and Algeria in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/ Patrick Post)

Vladimir Petković, head coach of Algeria's national soccer team, speaks during a press conference in Algiers, Algeria, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)