IDF commando forces carried out a raid in eastern Lebanon overnight Friday to search for the remains of Israeli Air Force navigator Ron Arad, who was taken captive in Lebanon nearly 40 years ago.

Arad was captured by the Amal organization in Lebanon on October 16, 1986, and has been considered missing since May 5, 1988, when contact with him was lost.

The raid was carried out based on intelligence obtained recently by the IDF.

The raid did not uncover any findings on Arad. Baruch Hashem, no IDF soldiers were injured during the operation.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu issued a statement on the operation on Motzei Shabbos, saying that IDF commandos had launched “a special mission to locate and bring back Ron Arad. We have been pursuing that goal tirelessly for many years.”

“The operation last night did not yield the findings we were looking for, but Israel’s commitment and my own commitment to complete all the missions regarding our captives and missing persons is absolute and constant.”

(YWN’s Jerusalem desk is keeping you updated after tzeis ha’Shabbos in Israel)