Imad Amhaz, a civilian naval officer, according to Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA), was abducted in a dawn raid from a chalet near the beach in Batroun.
Lebanon will file a complaint with the UN Security Council regarding the abduction of a Lebanese citizen by an Israeli naval force on Friday.
Imad Amhaz, a civilian naval officer, according to Lebanon’s state National News Agency (NNA), was abducted in a dawn raid from a chalet near the beach in Batroun, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.
The Times of Israel reported that the military confirmed that the raid was carried out by the Israeli Navy’s Shayatet 13 commando unit, and that “a Hezbollah operative” was detained, considered to be “a significant source of knowledge” in the movement’s “naval force.”
Hezbollah Statement
Hezbollah issued a statement on Saturday rejecting a report by a Saudi news channel, Al-Hadath TV, that Amhaz was linked to Hezbollah.
🚨LEBANESE SOURCE (to Al-Jazeera):
A security group kidnapped a Lebanese citizen from the Batroun area in the north of the country at dawn today.
Investigations into the hypothesis that an Israeli commando force infiltrated by sea and carried out the kidnapping in Batroun. pic.twitter.com/pcaDiJBwuE
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 2, 2024
“The Al-Hadath channel has consistently published news attributed to a source within Hezbollah, particularly today concerning the zionist aggression in the Batroun area,” the statement said.
“Our policy is entirely clear, as we have previously explained and emphasized in earlier statements: there are no sources within Hezbollah or sources close to Hezbollah, let alone these alleged sources providing information to Al-Hadath or its affiliates, who are blatantly and hostilely involved in the zionist propaganda machine against our resistance and the Lebanese people,” it concluded.
‘Necessary Investigations’
The NNA said Prime Minister Najib Mikati was briefed by Army Chief, General Joseph Aoun, on the ongoing investigations into the circumstances of the incident.
Lebanese Captain Kidnapped in Crossborder Israeli Raid – UNIFIL Denies Involvement
Mikati has requested the interim Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, “to submit an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council” regarding the abduction.
The prime minister also reached out to the command of the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), which confirmed that it is conducting the necessary investigations and coordinating with the army on the matter, the report added.
Resolution 1701 Questioned
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamieh, has slammed the incident and questioned the role of UN Resolution 1701 passed in 2006 to resolve the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
“The kidnapping of Amhaz took place 100 meters from his place of residence. If it is proven that the kidnapping took place via a naval landing, where is the implementation of Resolution 1701?” Hamieh said.
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He reportedly stressed that communication is underway with UNIFIL, as “the Lebanese coast is monitored by the peace-keeping forces periodically from Naqoura to Arida.”
According to NNA, “residents reported an unidentified military force carried out a “sea landing” operation on the Batroun beach, “and moved with all its weapons and equipment to a chalet near the beach, where it kidnapped a Lebanese man … sailing by speedboats into the open sea.”
Trainee Mariner
AFP reported that an acquaintance of Amhaz identified him as a student at the state-run Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute (MARSATI) and that he was taken from student housing near the training college. The source reportedly said he was “completing courses to become a sea captain.”
UNIFIL has denied any involvement in the abduction, the Anadolu news agency reported.
“UNIFIL has not been involved in facilitating any kidnapping or other violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” deputy spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said in a statement.
“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” she added.
Over 2,000 Killed
Resolution 1701 which was adopted on August 11, 2006, demands a complete cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between the Blue Line – the de facto boundary between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani River, allowing only the Lebanese army and UNIFIL to possess weapons and military equipment in the area.
Hezbollah Hits Key Israeli Targets amid Ongoing Israeli Airstrikes on Lebanon
Israel has escalated its air campaign in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and the movement since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Nearly 2,900 people have been killed and more than 13,000 injured in Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.
Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon on October 1.
(PC, Anadolu, NNA)
