Israeli commandos capture senior Hezbollah naval operative in Lebanon

Israeli commandos from the elite Shayetet 13 unit captured Imad Amhaz, a senior Hezbollah naval operative in a daring counterterrorism operation in Lebanon on Friday night.

The operation conducted by Shayetet 13 – often compared to the U.S. Navy SEALS – reportedly took place in the coastal town of Batroun in northern Lebanon and lasted just four minutes, according to the Lebanese al-Jadeed channel.

The Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported “an unidentified military force carrying out a landing operation on ​​the Batroun beach.”

Israeli naval commandos captured a Hezbollah official in a raid in northern Lebanon late Friday, the Israeli 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… pic.twitter.com/hR6i4W4sr8

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The NNA added that the IDF troops “moved with all their weapons and equipment to a chalet near the beach, where they kidnapped the citizen Imad Amhaz and took him to the beach, (then) left by speedboats to the open sea.”

Approximately 20 Israeli naval commandos were reportedly wearing Lebanese military uniforms, while another two were wearing civilian clothes as they carried out the operation.

Hezbollah reported “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area” but did not comment on any specifics.

While the incident has caught the attention of Lebanese media, few details are known as the Israeli military remotely erased some CCTV footage of the operation. The purpose of the Israeli undercover operation was reportedly to interrogate Amhaz about Hezbollah’s naval activities in the Mediterranean. Amhaz's wife reported the abduction, the media stated.

Lebanese authorities later discovered 10 SIM cards with foreign numbers, a cellular phone and various foreign passports – one with “PANAMA” written on it.

While Israeli sources have refrained from commenting in detail, they confirmed that Israeli forces had carried out an operation in Lebanon around 85 miles (140 km) from the border between Israel and Lebanon. It is notable as the majority of Israeli military activities focus on combating Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon, Beirut and the Bekaa Valley, close to the Syrian border.

The current conflict between the Hezbollah terrorist organization and Israel began on Oct. 8 of last year, when the Iranian proxy in Lebanon launched an unprovoked attack on northern Israel in solidarity with Hamas terrorists in Gaza, who had launched an invasion and violent terror attack on southern Israeli communities.

Since then, Hezbollah has fired over 10,000 rockets, missiles and drones into Israel, killing dozens of Israeli soldiers and civilians. In addition, approximately 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel as a result of the ongoing aggression.

Israel’s posture against Hezbollah was mainly defensive for months after the October attack, as the IDF was focused primarily on dismantling Hamas as a military force in Gaza. However, in September, Israel dramatically stepped up its offensive military operations against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon, including the elimination of its top leader, Sec.-Gen. Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel has also seriously degraded Hezbollah’s military capabilities and recently announced that about 70% of its drones have been destroyed. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently estimated that Hezbollah only retains about 20% of its once vast rocket and missile arsenal.