Breaking: Israeli Forces Land on Batroun Shore, Capture ‘Hezbollah Official’

Israeli Forces Land on Batroun Shore, Capture ‘Hezbollah Official’

An Israeli naval force consisting of 25 personnel landed on the coast of Batroun early Friday morning and reportedly detained Hezbollah official Imad Fadel Amhaz from a chalet, according to media reports and security sources.

An Israeli official told Axios that “Israeli Navy SEALs captured Imad Amhaz, a senior member of Hezbollah’s naval force, in an operation in northern Lebanon” to gather intelligence on Hezbollah’s naval activities. Sky News Arabia also reported the abduction in Batroun, with Israel’s Maariv newspaper confirming the capture of a Hezbollah official deep inside Lebanon.

However, Lebanon’s Caretaker Transportation Minister, Ali Hamieh, told Al-Jadeed TV that the individual taken was a civilian sea captain undergoing a maritime course in Batroun. Hamieh explained that the man had graduated in 2022 and had recently enrolled at the Batroun Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute, living approximately 300 meters from the institute.

Shortly after, two Lebanese journalists shared a video online appearing to show around 20 soldiers detaining a man in front of a building, with his face obscured. Kandice Ardiel, a spokesperson for UNIFIL, denied local rumors that U.N. peacekeepers assisted the Israeli force, warning that spreading such misinformation could endanger peacekeepers.

Israel has conducted similar operations in the past to capture or target Hezbollah and Palestinian officials within Lebanon. When contacted, the Israeli military stated they were looking into the reports of the incident.

Lebanon’s National News Agency reported that an “unidentified military force” conducted a “sea landing” on Batroun’s shore, arriving fully equipped at a beach chalet to detain a Lebanese man, who was then taken away on a speedboat. An acquaintance of the abducted man identified him as a student at the Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute, though originally from Qmatiyeh, a Shiite-majority town further south. The source mentioned that the man, in his 30s, was known by the institute’s faculty as he pursued sea captain training.

Batroun, a city with a Christian-majority population, has been relatively untouched by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has severely affected southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the Bekaa Valley. Since the conflict’s escalation on September 23, over 1,900 fatalities have been reported in Lebanon, though the true number may be higher due to gaps in data.