Lebanon charges four with alleged Mossad ties and kidnapping of retired officer

Lebanese judicial authorities have charged four people with communicating with Israel's foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, and with kidnapping a retired Lebanese security officer, a judicial source told AFP.

The investigation began in December following the disappearance of retired Captain Ahmad Shukr, a former officer in Lebanon's General Security agency. Shukr’s family background has drawn particular attention, as his brother is believed to have been involved in the capture of Israeli airman Ron Arad after his plane was shot down over Lebanon in 1986. Arad’s fate has never been officially determined.

According to the judicial source, the government commissioner at the military court charged one Lebanese national who is currently in custody, along with three others who remain at large. Those charged include a Lebanese woman, a person holding both Lebanese and French citizenship, and another individual with Syrian and Swedish nationality.

The four are accused of maintaining contact with the Mossad and working on its behalf inside Lebanon in exchange for financial payments, as well as carrying out the abduction of Shukr on December 17, 2025.