Srinagar, March 7 — Israel has confirmed carrying out an overnight airborne raid in eastern Lebanon, with Lebanese health authorities saying at least 41 people were killed and about 40 wounded in the attack in the Bekaa Valley.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation targeted the town of Nabi Chit to locate the remains of Ron Arad, an Israeli air force navigator captured in Lebanon nearly four decades ago.
In a statement posted on X, Netanyahu said Israeli troopeers carried out a special mission in the area but failed to recover the remains.
“The operation did not bring the findings we were looking for,” he said.
Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said at least 41 people were killed and about 40 injured in the Israeli air and ground raids on the town in the Bekaa Valley.
The Iran-backed group Hezbollah said its fighters observed four Israeli military helicopters entering the area from the direction of Syria. The group added that clashes broke out with Israeli troops near the town’s cemetery after forces advanced on the ground.
Nabi Chit, located in the Bekaa Valley, has long been considered a stronghold of Hezbollah and has witnessed repeated confrontations between the group and Israeli forces during periods of heightened regional tensions.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces issued a renewed "evacuation warning" to residents of the southern suburbs of Beirut.
In a post on X, an Israeli army spokesperson urged those who had not yet left the area to evacuate immediately and to follow previously issued instructions.
“Residents who remain in the area risk endangering their lives,” the spokesperson said.
Beirut’s southern suburbs are densely populated and widely regarded as a major political and operational base for Hezbollah.