Israeli navy captures senior Hezbollah member in Lebanon’s Batroun: Report

Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah official, Imad Amhaz, in an operation in northern Lebanon on Friday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, citing an Israeli official.

Earlier on Saturday, Reuters, citing a security source, said a suspected Israeli naval force landed in the northern Lebanese coastal town of Batroun early on Saturday and captured one person.

Another source confirmed the incident but did not say who was responsible, Reuters said.

Lebanon’s official National News agency said an “unidentified military force” carried out a “sea landing” on the shore of Batroun, south of Tripoli.

The force “went with all its weapons and equipment to a chalet near the beach, kidnapping a Lebanese man… and sailing away into the open sea on a speedboat,” the NNA said.

An acquaintance of the abductee identified him as a student at the Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute (MARSATI) in Batroun.

He was taken from student housing near the Batroun institute, but was a resident of the Shia-majority town of Qmatiyeh further south, said the acquaintance who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security concerns.

He was completing courses to become a sea captain, the source told AFP, adding that the man was in his thirties and was well known by the teaching staff at the center.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli and Lebanese authorities.

Pro-Hezbollah journalist Hassan Illaik said in a post on X that a large group of Israeli troops made a landing in the resort town and captured the man, before departing on speed boats.

He shared CCTV footage appearing to show soldiers walking in a street, two of them holding a person.

Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamiye, who represents Hezbollah in Lebanon’s government, said the video was accurate but did not provide further details.