Who is Ron Arad? Decades-long missing 'Israeli' captive referenced in Hamas’ “Farewell” Photo

On Saturday, Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, released a new photo of the 'Israeli' captives it holds.

The image, described as a “farewell photo of the captives at the onset of the operation in Gaza City,” carries a deliberate symbolic message.

Each captive in the photo was sequentially labeled with the name “Ron Arad”, the 'Israeli' Air Force navigator who disappeared over southern Lebanon in 1986.

The captives were marked as Ron Arad 1, Ron Arad 2, and so on, signaling that their fates could similarly become uncertain and unresolved.

So who is Ron Arad?

The Disappearance

On October 16, 1986, 'Israeli' Captain Ron Arad and his pilot were flying a Phantom jet over southern Lebanon when their aircraft was hit by a premature bomb detonation. Both ejected safely. While the pilot was rescued, Arad was captured by the Amal Movement, a Shiite resistance group in Lebanon.

The Unresolved Fate

Arad’s capture began a decades-long saga. After a year in Amal custody, he was transferred to Mustafa Dirani, a security chief who later joined Hezbollah.

'Israel' received proof of Arad being alive, including photos and letters, for two years, but the last confirmed contact came in 1988. 

Despite numerous 'Israeli' intelligence operations and prisoner exchange attempts, Arad’s whereabouts were never confirmed, and his body was never recovered.

In 2008, a Hezbollah-brokered report indicated he may have died in the mid-1990s due to illness, but without definitive evidence, 'Israel' never officially declared him dead.

Arad’s story has become a symbol in 'Israel' of the military principle of “leaving no soldier behind.” Campaigns to secure his release, including public advocacy by his wife and daughter, captured national attention.

By invoking Ron Arad in its photo, Hamas’ Qassam Brigades have added a psychological layer to their messaging, reminding 'Israel' of a decades-old unresolved captivity and signaling that the fate of its current captives could similarly become a prolonged national concern.