IDF kidnaps ‘senior Hezbollah official’ (VIDEO)
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has kidnapped a Lebanese citizen that it has described as a “senior Hezbollah operative” in an ‘‘unprecedented’‘ naval raid deep inside the neighboring state, according to media reports.
The abduction took place at dawn on Friday about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of the Lebanese capital Beirut, when heavily armed special forces reportedly landed on a beach in the coastal town of Batroun, seized the individual and escaped on speedboats.
Israel’s military said in a statement that the abducted person, Imad Amhaz, was a “senior operative of Hezbollah” and allegedly responsible for the militant group’s naval operations, media outlet Axios cited Israeli sources as saying. He “has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated,” the statement said.
The Lebanese government has confirmed the kidnapping of one of its citizens but claimed that Amhaz was a civilian naval officer who’d been abducted about a hundred yards from his place of residence.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah issued a statement on Saturday describing the incident as a “Zionist aggression.” The group has not confirmed whether it had any links with the abducted person.
The operation marks the first time Israeli forces have deployed troops this deep inside northern Lebanon, in this instance some 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the countries’ border and in an area unaffiliated with Hezbollah.
“An unidentified military force carried out a landing operation on the beach of Batroun, and moved … to a chalet near the beach, where it kidnapped the citizen Imad Amhaz and … left by speedboats to the open sea,” Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said.
CCTV camera footage shared online by Lebanese reporters appears to show a large group of armed men leading away a man with hands held behind his back and his face covered with a shirt.
The raid has sparked general anger from Lebanese authorities, with caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati saying he had urged the Foreign Ministry to file a complaint against Israel at the UN Security Council.
Lebanese Transport Minister Ali Hamieh said the abduction may have violated UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
“If it is proven that the kidnapping took place via a naval landing, where is the implementation of Resolution 1701?” NNA quoted Hamieh as saying.
Israeli forces launched a major air campaign against Lebanon in late September and since then have been conducting ground raids into the south of the country.
