(Times of Israel) Israeli naval commandos captured a Hezbollah official in a raid in northern Lebanon late Friday, the military confirmed on Saturday night, marking an unusual operation both in its nature and location deep inside the country.
Lebanese media reported that Israeli special forces arrived from the sea and raided a chalet on the coast of Batroun, south of Tripoli, and took one person with them before leaving the area in speedboats.
The raid took place some 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces later confirmed that the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit had carried out the operation.
The Hezbollah operative, named in media reports as Imad Amhaz, was considered by the IDF to be a “significant source of knowledge” in the terror group’s naval force.
He was taken to Israel to be questioned by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 — which specializes in HUMINT, or human intelligence — on Hezbollah’s naval operations.
Speaking to the local Al Jadeed News station, Ali Hamie, Lebanon’s Minister of Public Works and Transport, claimed that Amhaz was a captain of civilian ships and was studying at a civilian naval institute. Images posted to social media showed Amhaz in what appeared to be a navy uniform.
While the IDF has attacked northern Lebanon via airstrikes, its ground forces have been operating in the country’s south, making the raid noteworthy.
Lebanese journalist Hasan Illaik, who first reported on the raid, citedanonymous Lebanese military officials as saying the operation was apparently carried out in coordination with the German Navy operating within UNIFIL forces, to prevent the Lebanese Navy from interfering.
UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, denied involvement in the operation, with an unnamed deputy spokesperson telling the Saudi channel Asharq News that the organization “has no involvement in facilitating any kidnapping or any other violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
The spokesman added that the dissemination of “misleading information and unfounded rumors is irresponsible and puts peacekeeping forces at risk,” according to Asharq.
Meanwhile, the IDF said Saturday it estimates that some 2,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed by ground troops and in airstrikes since the start of the ground offensive in southern Lebanon a month ago.
Since the start of the conflict with Hezbollah on October 8, 2023 a day after Hamas launched its terror onslaught, nearly 3,000 Hezbollah members have been killed, according to IDF assessments.
The Israel Air Force continued to pound Lebanon on Friday, with the IDF releasing footage of fighter jets striking Hezbollah rocket launchers used earlier in the day in a barrage on central Israel.
מוקדם יותר היום תקפו בשטח לבנון מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בשיתוף פיקוד הצפון את המשגר ממנו זוהו השיגורים לעבר מרכז הארץ הלילה.
בהמשך להתרעות שהופעלו בשעה 13:57-13:59 במרחבים הגליל העליון ומרכז הגליל, זוהו כ-30 שיגורים שחצו משטח לבנון.
מרביתם יורטו על ידי חה״א, זוהו נפילות במרחב pic.twitter.com/JM1hYvNcLZ— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 2, 2024
