Israeli Commandos Operation in Northern Lebanon to Arrest Senior Hezbollah Member

The Israeli army states that its naval commandos entered the city of Batroun in northern Lebanon, arrested a senior Hezbollah member, and took him to Israel for interrogation. Lebanese media reported that this event occurred in the early hours of Friday, November 11, and the Israeli army confirmed that commandos from the Shayetet 13 unit participated in this 'special operation.' The Wall Street Journal, citing Lebanese security officials, reported that the operation lasted only about four minutes and involved approximately 20 Israeli commandos. Hassan Aliq, a journalist close to Hezbollah, was the first to publish a video from surveillance cameras of the incident on social media, stating that about 25 Israeli commandos took the individual after his arrest in Batroun and transported him in speedboats. Lebanese officials confirmed the authenticity of this video and identified the captured individual as 'Imad Amhaz.' Batroun is located near the city of Tripoli and is about 50 kilometers from Beirut. Israel only disclosed the operation after a video of the event was shared on social media. The Israeli army referred to the arrested individual as a 'significant source of knowledge' in Hezbollah's maritime domain without naming him. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported more details about this individual, stating that 38-year-old Imad Amhaz was the captain of a civilian ship, and Lebanese security agents found about 10 foreign SIM cards and a non-Lebanese passport in his apartment. According to this report, Lebanese officials also stated that Imad Amhaz had no connections with the country's security services and had rented an apartment in Batroun about a month ago to study at the city's maritime institute. Israeli media considered Imad Amhaz to be linked to Hezbollah's maritime operations, but the Israeli army did not confirm or deny this. Meanwhile, the Lebanese news agency reported that the Prime Minister of Lebanon has called for a protest at the UN Security Council regarding the 'abduction of a Lebanese citizen.' According to this report, Najib Mikati, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, asked Abdullah Bouhabib, the Foreign Minister of his government, to register the country's 'immediate complaint' at the Security Council. Additionally, according to the official Lebanese news agency, Mr. Mikati was briefed on the ongoing investigations regarding this case in a call with Joseph Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese army, and also spoke with the commander of the UN peacekeeping forces in the country, UNIFIL. Meanwhile, Ali Hamieh, the Lebanese Minister of Transport from the Hezbollah faction, described the Israeli operation as 'possibly a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.' He also stated that the maritime area of Lebanon is under the supervision of UNIFIL forces and announced that the Lebanese Foreign Ministry would inquire with UNIFIL about any prior knowledge they might have had. Batroun, the city where the Israeli operation took place, had not previously been a target of Israeli airstrikes in various areas of Lebanon. In addition to ground operations in southern Lebanon and areas near the border of the two countries, Israel has repeatedly conducted airstrikes in areas of Beirut and its suburbs as well as in eastern, central, and southern Lebanon in recent months. Israel claims that these attacks target military and logistical facilities of Hezbollah. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israeli airstrikes in the country over the past year have resulted in approximately 2,900 deaths and over 13,000 injuries.