New details have emerged in a case that has shaken Lebanon. The Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday on Arab media claims regarding the capture of a relative of a senior Hezbollah terrorist.
The Lebanese legal source told the newspaper that inquiries conducted by the Internal Security Forces suggested Israel abducted the retired officer Ahmad Shukr in what was described as an intelligence "honey trap" operation, prompted by suspicions of his involvement in the kidnapping of Ron Arad, whose aircraft was downed over Lebanon in 1986.
"Drugged and abducted"
"The information branch has so far found no physical or technical trace indicating Shukr's presence inside Lebanese territory," said the legal source overseeing the investigation. "This strengthens the hypothesis that he was drugged and abducted to Israel, either by air or by sea via a boat departing from the Lebanese coast, as occurred in the abduction of maritime captain Imad Amahz, a Hezbollah terrorist, in the town of al-Batroun in November 2024."
The investigation is being conducted in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, where it is believed the abduction was carried out by two individuals holding Swedish citizenship, one of whom is reportedly of Lebanese origin.
Ahmad Shukr previously held a rank equivalent to captain in Lebanon's General Security apparatus. His family has ties to Hezbollah, a factor that raised suspicions regarding his alleged involvement in the Ron Arad affair. The Lebanese legal source said he fears Shukr's disappearance may be only "part of a series of Israeli operations in Lebanon."
Alongside the abduction scenario, the report noted that several possibilities remain regarding Shukr's fate, ranging from the possibility that he was assassinated, similar to the case of money changer Ahmad Sarrour who was linked to Hezbollah, to the assessment that he was transferred out of Lebanon, meaning to Israel.
The legal source added that Lebanon's Internal Security Forces intensified their investigation after receiving a report of Shukr's disappearance last week, revealing that the investigations unit reviewed surveillance camera footage and analyzed communications data.
According to the source, this produced "initial indications" that Shukr fell into a carefully planned trap that began in his hometown of Nabi Sheet in the northern Beqaa Valley and continued to the city of Zahle, where he disappeared and where investigative efforts are now focused.
Before he disappeared
In addition, the Lebanese newspaper Ad-Diyar reported, citing its sources, that Shukr was apparently lured to the al-Suwairi area near his hometown, where signals from his mobile phone were detected for 37 seconds before disappearing.
The sources raised the possibility that this indicates he was transferred to Israel via the Mount Hermon area, together with an escort from the al-Kassab family. In this context, two scenarios were suggested: that the family member cooperated with the abductors, or that he too was abducted.
Meanwhile, Lebanese government sources complained Wednesday in Ad-Diyar that Israel is attempting to damage the image of the Lebanese army as a unifying institution enjoying internal consensus and international support. The complaints followed the killing of a Hezbollah terrorist who was exposed as having operated as a Lebanese soldier.
According to the sources, Israel is hinting at cooperation between army personnel and Hezbollah in order to sow doubt within Lebanese society and to send a message to the international community that "the line between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah is not clear."
