Israeli naval forces seize ship captain in raid on Lebanon's northern coast

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Israeli marine commandos abducted a Lebanese ship captain in the town of Batroun, in northern Lebanon, in an operation launched by sea on Friday.

They “apprehended” a senior Hezbollah member, an Israeli military official said on Saturday.

“In a special operation by 'Shayetet 13' in the Lebanese town of Batroun, a senior operative of Hezbollah, who serves as ‏an expert in his field, was apprehended,” a military official told The National.

“The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated by Unit 504.” The unit is one of the Israeli military's intelligence units. The official added that the Israeli military would “continue to act wherever necessary”.

Earlier, a Lebanese security source told The National that Israeli Israeli naval commandos abducted a Lebanese ship captain in Batroun.

The source named the captain taken by Israeli forces as Imad Amhaz. Mr Amhaz was captured by a force of about 25 people in Batroun. The coastal town is predominantly Christian and is far from the areas hit by Israel's air campaign, which began six weeks ago.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has instructed Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council regarding the kidnapping.

According to his office, Mr Mikati has followed up on the incident with Army Commander Gen Joseph Aoun and the UN peacekeeping force, Unifil, which confirmed it is conducting the necessary investigations with the Lebanese Army.

Kandice Ardiel, a spokeswoman for the Unifil in southern Lebanon, had previously denied reports by some local media that UN peacekeepers had helped the landing force in the operation.

“Disinformation and false rumours are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ms Ardiel said.

Axios reported that an Israeli official said Mr Amhaz was a senior member of Hezbollah's naval forces. “The official said Ahmaz was detained to interrogate him and learn more about Hezbollah's naval operations,” it said.

Caretaker Transport Minister Ali Hamieh told Lebanon's Al-Jadeed that Mr Amhaz was a captain of civilian ships and that he was taking additional courses at the Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute in Batroun, where he also rented a chalet.

Hezbollah issued a statement labelling the kidnapping as a “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area.” The group did not give further information or confirm whether the man was one of its members.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported on Saturday that security officials were investigating an “unidentified military force” that carried out a sea landing in Batroun on Friday.

The force allegedly entered a seaside studio to abduct a Lebanese national, took him to the beach, then returned to the sea and fled into open water on speedboats, according to NNA. The agency added the men purportedly “moved with all their weapons and equipment to a chalet near the shore”.

CCTV footage shared by Lebanese journalists allegedly captured the moment of the operation, showing armed men taking away a man who had his face covered.