Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency carried out a special mission last month to find new information about missing Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad, but the operation was reported to be a failure.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett revealed on Monday that the operation had taken place, during a speech on the floor of the Knesset plenum, but was unable to provide any additional information about the secret operation or its findings. Israeli media later reported, citing unnamed defense sources, that the mission did not uncover any new information. “Last month, the women and men of the Mossad embarked on an operation aimed at finding new information about the remains and whereabouts of Ron Arad. It was a complex, wide-ranging and bold operation. That is all that can be said right now,” Bennett said at the opening of the Israeli Parliament’s winter session.
Arad ejected from a fighter jet over Lebanon in 1986 and was taken captive by Lebanese Shiite group Amal; he was later transferred to Iranian forces. He is believed to have died in 1988, based on a 2016 report by the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad. He remains classified as missing in action, however.