Retired Lebanese Officer Vanishes Amid Israeli Intelligence Operation
A retired Lebanese security officer has disappeared without a trace, with his family and Lebanese officials suspecting a covert Israeli abduction aimed at extracting intelligence about a missing Israeli airman. Captain Ahmed Shukr, a retired officer from Lebanon's General Security Directorate, vanished in December after going to meet a potential buyer for a plot of land in Zahle.
His family is convinced that Shukr was kidnapped and taken to Israel in an intelligence operation focused on uncovering the fate of Israeli navigator Ron Arad, who disappeared in Lebanon four decades ago. The family asserts that Shukr was never part of any militant group and played no role in Arad's disappearance, but they believe he was targeted due to his brother's possible connections to the case.
Deadly Commando Raid in Search of Arad's Remains
Nearly three months after Shukr's disappearance, and following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran that triggered a wider Middle East conflict, Israel conducted a deadly commando operation in Nabi Chit, Lebanon, over the weekend. The operation aimed to find evidence of Arad's fate, according to the Israeli military, which acknowledged the mission but stated that Arad's remains were not located.
Residents reported that the commando team began digging in the Shukr family cemetery in Nabi Chit before being confronted by fighters from the Hezbollah militant group and armed civilians. Intense clashes and airstrikes ensued, resulting in 41 deaths and dozens of injuries, as reported by Lebanon's Health Ministry. No Israeli casualties were reported in the incident.
It remains unclear whether the Israeli operation was based on information extracted from Shukr. The Israeli military declined to comment when asked if Israel had taken Shukr, but the incident aligns with a long-standing pattern of Israeli covert actions and commando operations deep inside Lebanon to capture or kill individuals linked to anti-Israel activities.
Decades-Long Search for Missing Airman Ron Arad
Israel has been searching for Ron Arad for decades. Arad parachuted from his fighter jet in 1986 while attacking suspected Palestinian militants near Sidon, Lebanon, and was captured by the Shiite Muslim faction known as the Believers' Resistance. In 1994, Israeli commandos seized the leader of this faction, Mustafa Dirani, from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley and took him to Israel.
Dirani was released in a prisoner exchange ten years later and provided conflicting accounts of Arad's fate, including claims that Arad disappeared in 1988 or was taken by Iranian soldiers. In 2008, Hezbollah sent a report suggesting Arad likely died while trying to escape to Israel. The connection to Shukr's family adds a new layer to this enduring mystery.
The Abduction of Ahmed Shukr: Details and Allegations
Relatives of Ahmed Shukr revealed that months before his disappearance, he became acquainted with a Lebanese citizen named Ali Morad, who contacted him via social media and rented an apartment from him south of Beirut. Shukr's wife, Salwa Hazimeh, stated that Morad called in mid-December, insisting on a late afternoon meeting with a potential land buyer in Zahle.
Security footage from December 17 shows Shukr getting out of his car in Zahle and entering another vehicle, after which he vanished. His phone was last active in the village of Ghazzeh on December 18, leading the family to believe he was taken by land into Israel. Human Rights Watch deputy director Adam Coogle described the incident as "an extraordinary rendition," effectively a kidnapping across borders without due process.
Judicial officials in Beirut have charged four individuals in the case, including Morad, a Lebanese-French citizen, a Syrian-Swedish citizen, and a Lebanese woman who rented a villa overlooking Zahle. An SUV was purchased for $22,000 for the kidnapping, and the woman paid $42,000 for a year's rent of the villa. Morad's lawyer claims her client was a victim, believing he worked for a foreign company and was unwittingly used in the operation.
Family Insights and Historical Context
Shukr's wife and brother, Abdul-Salam Shukr, told The Associated Press that the retired officer has no information about Arad's fate. However, another family member, speaking anonymously, disclosed that Shukr's brother, Hassan Shukr, was a Hezbollah member who knew where Arad had been held—reportedly in a locked room at the home of Hassan Shukr's in-laws, members of Dirani's Believers' Resistance in Nabi Chit.
Judicial officials confirmed a Lebanese army report from the 1980s stating that Arad was held by the Shukr family in Nabi Chit and received medical treatment while ill. The family member added that Hassan Shukr was killed in the Meidoun battle on May 5, 1988, and upon returning fighters found Arad's room open and the captive missing. The family insists Ahmed Shukr was not involved in holding Arad and possesses no additional information.
An AP crew visited the "Wood Villa" in Zahle, identified as the base for the kidnapping operation. The villa's main gate was sealed by Lebanese authorities, with locals noting no suspicious movements. A resident reported that security agents collected evidence from the house in mid-December, and a shop owner said his security camera discs were taken by agents, highlighting the ongoing investigation into this mysterious disappearance.
