BATROUN, Lebanon – Israeli naval forces have captured a senior Hezbollah operative in northern Lebanon, an Israeli military official said on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said they were investigating whether Israel was behind the capture of a Lebanese sea captain who was kidnapped by a group of gunmen who landed on the coast near the northern town of Batroun on Friday.
The military official said: “The activist was transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated,” without mentioning the name of the detained person.
Two Lebanese military officials confirmed to The Associated Press that a naval force landed in Batroun, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut, and kidnapped a Lebanese citizen. Neither of them identified the man or said whether he was believed to have links to the Lebanese Hezbollah group. They did not confirm whether the gunmen were from the Israeli force.
Speaking to the Lebanese Al-Jadeed channel, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hami refused to go into details or answer questions about whether he believed it was an Israeli operation.
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Three Lebanese judicial officials told the Associated Press that the incident occurred at dawn on Friday, adding that the captain may have links to Hezbollah. The officials said that an investigation is underway to find out that the man is linked to Hezbollah or works for an Israeli spy agency, and an Israeli force came to rescue him.
Military and judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.
Hezbollah issued a statement describing what happened as a “Zionist aggression against the Batroun region.” The statement did not provide details or confirm whether Israel had captured a Hezbollah member.
In the past, Israel carried out commando operations deep into Lebanon to kidnap or kill Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.
Residents of the residential building where the man was kidnapped said that the armed group presented itself as members of State Security.
We were terrified. “They were breaking into the apartment next to ours,” Hussein al-Delbani told The Associated Press near where the man was arrested. “I thought a government agency was conducting a security operation,” said Al-Delbani, who was displaced from southern Lebanon a month ago when war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah.
He said that from his balcony he saw people on the coast and they shouted again, demanding that he enter.
Hami told Al-Jadeed TV that the man was a captain of civilian ships. He graduated in 2022 and in late September enrolled at the Institute of Marine Science and Technology in Batroun to take additional courses. Hami said the man lived 300 meters (980 feet) from the institute.
Hami’s comments came shortly after Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing what appeared to be about 20 armed men taking a man from in front of a house with his face covered by his shirt.
Candace Ardell, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, denied allegations by some local journalists who said peacekeepers assisted the landing force in the operation. The United Nations mission, known as UNIFIL, has a naval force that monitors the coast.
“Disinformation and false rumours are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ardell said.
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Marwa reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Sally Abu al-Joud in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
& Version 2024 The Associated Press
