Support justice-driven, accurate and transparent news — make a quick donation to Truthout today!
Israeli forces killed dozens of people in Lebanon, including children, in airstrikes and a ground incursion after Israeli soldiers supposedly tried and failed to recover the remains of a famous pilot who has been missing for 40 years in a town in eastern Lebanon.
Lebanese health officials said at least 41 people were killed and 40 others wounded by an Israeli bombardment on Saturday. Three Lebanese soldiers were also killed, and the Israeli military reported no Israelis were hurt.
According to the Lebanese army and Lebanon’s government news agency, National News Agency (NNA), Israeli commandos raided a family cemetery in the town of Nabi Chit at night. They were detected by the Lebanese army, and went to respond, leading to a gun fight between the soldiers. Hezbollah also said its fighters saw the Israeli infiltration and became involved in the clash.
As the fight occurred on the ground, the Israeli military also launched at least 40 airstrikes on the town. The strikes left several buildings in the town in ruins, and rendered a main road unusable, leaving a huge crater behind. Israeli commandos hadsuccessfully dug up a grave in the cemetery, witnesses said.
The Israeli military said that the incursion was launched to recover the remains of Ron Arad, a famous Israeli pilot who went missing in 1986 after he parachuted from a fighter jet that was shot down over southern Lebanon, while he was involved in a mission against the Palestinian Liberation Organization. His location has been unknown since the late 1980s, and the Israeli government believes him to be dead.
“As part of IDF activities in Lebanon, IDF special forces operated overnight in an attempt to locate findings related to the missing navigator Ron Arad. No IDF injuries were reported,” Israeli forces said in a statement. “No findings related to him were located at the search site.”
A former Israeli officer told The Guardian that the military may have gotten new intelligence related to Arad, and that regardless of Israel’s war on Iran and escalated bombardments of Lebanon, they have “an obligation to put an end to this tragedy.”
In a clear abdication of the ceasefire, Israel has escalated its bombardment of Lebanon in the past week as the U.S. and Israel launched an illegal war on Iran. Israeli forces have killed nearly 400 people in the past week, including at least 83 children.
The renewed fighting has forcibly displaced over 500,000 people in Lebanon, comprised largely of those in southern Lebanon located north and south of the Litani river, with some evacuations in Beirut and eastern Lebanon as well. The mass evacuation orders for southern Lebanonhave sparked fears of a renewed ethnic cleansing campaign by Israel as its military has also launched airstrikes on densely populated areas of Beirut.
World Health Organization secretary-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusaid that the escalated Israeli attacks have killed nine health workers and forced 43 primary care centers and five hospitals to close due to evacuation orders.
A Human Rights Watch investigation released Mondayalso found that Israel illegally used white phosphorus munitions on homes in southern Lebanon on March 3. The use of white phosphorus, an incendiary material that can burnthrough clothes, skin, and bone, is barred in residential areas in part due to its airborne effects that burn people’s lungs and can cause lifelong effects.
The group found that Israel used a white phosphorus munition on the town of Yohmor last week, after the Israeli military ordered an evacuation of the town earlier that morning.
An urgent appeal for your support: 24 Hours to raise $15,000
Truthout relies on individual donations to publish independent journalism, free from political and corporate influence. In fact, we’re almost entirely funded by readers like you.
Unfortunately, donations are down. At a moment when independent journalism is urgently needed, we are struggling to meet our operational costs due to increasing political censorship.
Truthout may end this month in the red without additional help, so we’ve launched a fundraiser. We have 24 hours to hit our $15,000 goal. Please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation if you can.