The Israeli government has refused to accept a report that the missing air force navigator Ron Arad died in Lebanon in 1995.

The Prime Minister’s Office says it will continue to assume that Lt. Col Arad is alive, unless more conclusive evidence is given to the contrary.

A statement from the PMO said: "The missing aviator’s case is ongoing and until we have conclusive evidence to the contrary, the premise is that Ron Arad is alive. We are doing everything possible to bring him home."

An Israeli Military Intelligence report recently concluded that the pilot, who has been missing since his plane went down in Lebanon in 1986, died there in the mid-1990s, but that he was probably alive in captivity for nine years.

Ron Arad's family also refused to accept the committee’s findings.

Family lawyer Eliad Shraga said: "Even if the article is accurate and Ron is not alive, we are committed to bringing him home."