Israeli forces capture Hezbollah officials in northern Lebanon, Israeli army chief says – National
BATROUN, Lebanon (AP) – The Israeli navy has captured Hezbollah officials in northern Lebanon, an Israeli military official said Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, the Lebanese authorities said they are still investigating whether Israel was responsible for the kidnapping of a Lebanese sea captain who was taken by a group of armed men who arrived on the coast near the northern town of Batroun Friday.
“The operation has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently under investigation,” the military official said, without giving the name of the person arrested.
Two Lebanese military officials confirmed to the Associated Press that the navy landed in Batroun, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut, and captured a Lebanese citizen. He did not identify the man or say whether he is believed to have links to the Lebanese group Hezbollah. They did not confirm that the armed men were Israeli soldiers.
Speaking to Lebanon's Al-Jadeed TV, Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamie declined to go into details or answer questions about the supposed Israeli occupation.
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Three Lebanese judicial officials told the AP that the incident happened in the early hours of Friday, adding that the captain may have ties to Hezbollah. The officials said that the investigation is looking into whether the man is connected to Hezbollah or working for the Israeli spy agency and the Israeli army came to rescue him.
Both military and judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.
Hezbollah issued a statement calling the incident “Zionist violence in the Batroun area.” The statement did not provide details or confirm that any of the Hezbollah members were captured by Israel.
Israel has carried out previous commando operations deep into Lebanon to capture or kill Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.
Residents of the apartment where the man was seized said the armed group introduced themselves as state security.
“We were scared. They were breaking into the apartment next to ours,” said Hussein Delbani to the Associated Press near where the man was kidnapped. “I thought the government agency was carrying out a security operation,” said Delbani, who was forced out of southern Lebanon last month when Israel's war with Hezbollah broke out.
He said he saw from his balcony people down on the beach and they shouted for him to come inside.
Hamie told Al-Jadeed that the man was the captain of a human vessel. He graduated in 2022 and in late September joined Batroun's Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for further studies. Hamie said the man lives 300 meters (980 feet) from the center.
He said this after two Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing what appears to be about 20 armed men taking a man in front of a house, his face covered with a shirt.
Kandice Ardiel, spokeswoman for the UN peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, denied allegations by local journalists that the peacekeepers helped the army that was on the ground in the operation. The UN mission, known as UNIFIL, has a navy that patrols the coast.
“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ardiel said.
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Moure reported from Beirut. Associate reporters Sally Abou Aljoud in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
© 2024 The Associated Press
