Israel captures senior Hezbollah operative in Lebanon, military says

BATROUN, Lebanon — 

Israeli naval forces captured a elder Hezbollah operative successful northbound Lebanon, an Israeli subject authoritative said Saturday.

Earlier connected Saturday, Lebanese authorities said they were investigating whether Israel was down the seizure of a Lebanese oversea skipper who was taken distant by a radical of equipped men who had landed connected the seashore adjacent the bluish municipality of Batroun connected Friday.

"The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is presently being investigated," the subject authoritative said, without providing the sanction of the idiosyncratic successful detention.

Two Lebanese subject officials confirmed to the Associated Press that a naval unit landed successful Batroun, astir 30 kilometers northbound of Beirut, and abducted a Lebanese citizen. Neither gave the man's individuality oregon said whether helium was thought to person links to Lebanon's Hezbollah group. They did not corroborate whether the equipped men were an Israeli force.

Speaking to Lebanon's Al-Jadeed TV, Ali Hamie, Lebanon's curate of Public Works and Transport, declined to spell into details oregon reply questions astir whether it was thought to beryllium an Israeli operation.

Three Lebanese judicial officials told AP the incidental occurred astatine dawn Friday, adding that the skipper mightiness person links with Hezbollah. The officials said an probe is looking into the antheral to find if helium is linked to Hezbollah oregon moving for an Israeli spy bureau and an Israeli unit came to rescue him.

Both the subject and judicial officials spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were unauthorized to stock details astir the incidental oregon the ongoing investigation.

Hezbollah issued a connection calling what happened a "Zionist aggression successful the Batroun area." The connection did not springiness details oregon corroborate whether 1 of Hezbollah's members was captured by Israel.

Israel has carried retired commando operations heavy wrong Lebanon to kidnap oregon termination Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.

Residents of the flat gathering wherever the antheral was seized said the equipped radical introduced themselves arsenic authorities security.

"We were terrified. They were breaking into the flat adjacent to ours," Hussein Delbani told The Associated Press adjacent wherever the antheral was captured. "I thought a authorities bureau was doing a information operation," said Delbani, who was displaced from southbound Lebanon a period agone erstwhile the Israel-Hezbollah warfare erupted.

He said helium saw from his balcony radical down connected the seashore and they ordered him to spell inside.

Hamie told Al-Jadeed the antheral was a skipper of civilian ships. He graduated successful 2022 and successful precocious September joined the Batroun's Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for further courses. Hamie said that the antheral lived immoderate 300 meters from the institute.

Hamie's remarks came soon aft 2 Lebanese journalists posted a video connected societal media showing what appeared to beryllium astir 20 equipped men taking distant a antheral from successful beforehand a house, his look covered with his shirt.

Kandice Ardiel, a spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping unit deployed successful southbound Lebanon, denied allegations by immoderate journalists who said the peacekeepers helped the landing unit successful the operation. The U.N. mission, known arsenic UNIFIL, has a maritime unit that monitors the coast.

"Disinformation and mendacious rumors are irresponsible and enactment peacekeepers astatine risk," Ardiel said.