Imad Amhaz, who was captured by Israeli commandos in Batroun on Friday, has been taken to Israeli territory, where he is now under investigation by Unit 504, an intelligence branch of the Israeli army, an Israeli military official told CNN on Saturday.
Imad Amhaz (Social Media)
Imad Amhaz, who was captured by Israeli commandos in Batroun on Friday, has been taken to Israeli territory, where he is now under investigation by Unit 504, an intelligence branch of the Israeli army, an Israeli military official told CNN on Saturday.
Members of Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 force captured Amhaz at dawn on Friday on the coast of Batroun in northern Lebanon.
The Israeli military has previously described Shayetet 13’s missions as involving “strategic sabotage activity across enemy lines, including damaging vital structures during wartime and the enemy’s seaports.”
This marks the first reported Israeli operation of its kind since the start of the war between Hezbollah and Israel on Oct. 8, 2023.
On Saturday, an investigation was launched in Lebanon into the case.
After the circumstances of the incident remained unclear throughout the day, an Israeli military official, quoted by the Army Radio, claimed that the operation had been conducted by the "13th force" which "captured a member of Hezbollah."
On Sunday morning, Amhaz' father denied accusations of his son’s ties to Hezbollah, asserting in a statement, that “Imad is a civilian maritime captain.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
Israeli and Lebanese envoys will meet for U.S.-mediated talks in Washington on Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to calm weeks of Israeli fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah that has threatened to derail a fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
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