Lebanese security officials suspect the Mossad carried out a covert abduction in eastern Lebanon in a hunt for clues as to the fate of missing Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad.

According to a report aired Tuesday by the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya network, Lebanese authorities believe a former senior military officer, Ahmad Shukr, was abducted in the Beqaa Valley in an operation they assess was conducted by Mossad. Lebanese security sources say the disappearance is believed to be directly linked to Shukr’s possible knowledge of events surrounding Arad’s capture in 1986.

The report said Lebanon’s security establishment has intensified its investigation in recent days, reviewing surveillance camera footage, phone records, and communications data tied to Shukr’s last known movements. Investigators reportedly suspect that a Mossad team entered Lebanon via Beirut’s international airport two days before the alleged abduction took place.

Lebanese officials are also probing the possible involvement of two individuals holding Swedish citizenship, one of whom is reportedly of Lebanese origin. According to the assessment cited by Al Arabiya, the two arrived in Lebanon just days before Shukr vanished and may have played a role in facilitating the operation.

Israeli officials have not commented publicly on the report.

If confirmed, the operation would represent a rare and daring intelligence action deep inside Lebanon, a country where Israel has no diplomatic presence and where Mossad activity is considered highly provocative. It would also underscore the enduring importance Israel places on resolving the fate of Ron Arad, whose disappearance has haunted the country for nearly four decades.

Arad was captured on October 16, 1986, while serving as a navigator in Squadron 69 of the Israeli Air Force, known as the Hammers Squadron. He was flying in a Phantom jet on a mission to strike terrorist targets near Sidon in southern Lebanon when a technical malfunction caused one of the bombs carried by the aircraft to explode close to the plane.

The blast forced Arad and the pilot, Iftach Spector, to eject. Strong winds separated the two men. Spector was rescued by an Israeli Air Force helicopter after managing to cling to the aircraft’s landing skid. Arad, however, landed elsewhere and evaded capture briefly before being seized by the Amal terrorist organization.

Despite decades of intelligence efforts, diplomatic initiatives, prisoner exchanges, and covert operations, Israel has never been able to conclusively determine Arad’s fate. Over the years, Israel has received conflicting reports suggesting he may have been transferred between militias, moved to Iran, or killed in captivity, but none have been definitively proven.

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