On 2 November 2024, Israeli naval commando unit

Shayetet 13 Shayetet 13 () is a naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy and one of the primary sayeret, reconnaissance units of the Israel Defense Forces. Shayetet 13 specializes in sea-to-land incursions, counter-terrorism, sabotage, maritime intelligence ...

raided Batroun in northern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, kidnapped a Lebanese citizen and left the area in a speedboat. The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

stated the target was a senior Hezbollah operative who was taken to Israel for questioning by military intelligence. The IDF identified him as Imad Ahmaz, whom it said was responsible for Hezbollah's naval operations.

Raid

At dawn on 2 November 2024, an Israeli naval force consisting of the

elite commando unit landed in Batroun, raided a

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-su ...

, and kidnapped a Lebanese citizen, before returning to Israel in a speedboat. According to local media reports, the raid was conducted by more than 25 armed men. Israel claimed to have identified the abducted man as Imad Amhaz, who it said was responsible for Hezbollah's naval operations. Israel said that he is now being interrogated by Unit 504.

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

footage showed a person being led away by more than a dozen armed men. Lebanon's minister of public works, Ali Hamieh, said that the abducted man was a civilian ship captain taking a course at a maritime institute in Batroun, where he rented a chalet. He also said the abduction could be a violation of

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 is a resolution that was intended to resolve the 2006 Lebanon War. The resolution calls for a full cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, the withdrawal of Hezbollah and other for ...

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

spokesperson Kandice Ardiel denied allegations by some local media reports that UNIFIL assisted the Israeli naval force in its operation.

Target

Imad Amhaz is a sea captain of civilian and commercial ships and was receiving his education at a civilian institute. He was not a member of the Lebanese Navy. Israel said he assisted in smuggling naval weapons from Iran through Syria to Lebanon. After the kidnapping, Lebanese security forces discovered that Emad had about ten SIM cards and passports of different countries. Amhaz' father denied accusations of his son's ties to Hezbollah stating that "Imad is a civilian maritime captain" in a

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post.

Reactions

* : Hezbollah called the incident a "Zionist aggression in the Batroun area", without confirming one of its member's capture. * : Lebanese prime minister

Najib Mikati Najib Azmi Mikati (born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman who served as the 52nd prime minister of Lebanon from 2021 to 2025. He previously served in this post as the 48th and 45th prime minister from 2011 to 2014 and i ...

said he ordered the government to file a complaint to the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

over the kidnapping. * : The Israeli military stated that "the operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated", without naming them.

References

{{Reflist Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) 2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon Amphibious warfare Kidnappings in Lebanon Kidnapping in the 2020s November 2024 in Lebanon Batroun District