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Israel Kidnaps Hezbollah Official in Naval Landing Operation in Northern Lebanon
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The timing and nature of the Israeli operation in Batroun indicates a qualitative development in the strategy of targeting Hezbollah elements outside usual confrontation areas
Lebanese security agencies are conducting investigations into a naval landing operation carried out by Israeli forces that resulted in the kidnapping of a Lebanese citizen in the Batroun area in the north of the country.
The "National News Agency" reported today, Saturday, that "security agencies are investigating an incident that occurred in the Batroun area at dawn yesterday, where residents reported an unknown military force conducting a landing operation on the beach."
The agency explained that "the force moved with all its equipment towards a chalet adjacent to the beach, where they kidnapped a Lebanese citizen who was present there, took him to the beach, before departing via speedboats towards the deep sea."
Media outlets close to Hezbollah circulated information about a naval force, likely Israeli, carrying out a landing operation on the Batroun coast in northern Lebanon.
The information indicated that a naval force consisting of 25 personnel kidnapped a Lebanese person from a chalet in the area.
Sources from Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath channels revealed that the targeted person is Hezbollah leader Imad Amhaz.
The same sources reported that the landing operation in Batroun was carried out at 2:30 AM on Friday, noting that the operatives wore both military and civilian attire.
Current security investigations are focusing on exploring the nature of Imad Amhaz's roles in Hezbollah, while Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath sources noted that he works as a sea captain and not as an officer in the Lebanese army.
Barak Ravid, Axios correspondent, quoted an Israeli official confirming that the Israeli navy arrested "a prominent member of the naval force" belonging to Hezbollah, named Imad Amhaz, during an operation in northern Lebanon on Friday.
An informed source told AFP that the kidnapped person, who is thirty years old, was receiving his training at the Institute of Marine Sciences and Technology (MARSATI), adding that he was in the final stages of his studies to obtain a sea captain certificate, and that he had been living in university housing for a long time.
Levant-Agencies
