Lebanese authorities have launched an investigation following the circulation of a video showing a capture operation by an armed unit in the northern coastal town of Batroun early Friday morning.

The operation, captured on surveillance camera and widely shared by local media and journalists, reportedly took place before dawn and is under examination by Lebanon's Internal Security Forces and the Lebanese Army.

The footage depicts a coordinated maritime landing involving over 25 soldiers, including divers and naval personnel, conducting a raid on Batroun’s shores. Security sources allege that the target of the operation was Imad Fadel Amhaz. 

Lebanon's National News Agency reported that local residents had seen a military force carrying out the landing. The soldiers were seen moving fully armed to a nearby chalet, where they allegedly snatched an individual present at the scene. 

The special forces left the area via speedboats after completing their mission, the report added. 

The Israeli army confirmed that the Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit carried out a raid in northern Lebanon, capturing a Hezbollah official.

The captured individual, according to the Israeli military, is a “significant source of knowledge” in Hezbollah's naval force.

Amhaz is now being questioned by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504, which specializes in HUMINT, or human intelligence, the Israeli army stated.

A military source told MTV that Amhaz was undergoing a month-long captain training course at a Batroun maritime institute, which is a private establishment not associated with any Lebanese security agency. Initial reports suggest he has ties to Hezbollah and was living alone in a rented apartment in Batroun.

An acquaintance of Ahmaz identified him as a student at the Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute (MARSATI) in Batroun, telling AFP that he was taken from student housing near the institute. 

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was completing courses to become a sea captain. 

Caretaker Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamiyeh told Al-Jadeed broadcaster that the abducted individual is a maritime captain for civilian and commercial vessels, addint that he was receiving training at a civilian institute in Beirut. 

"The sea is being monitored, and we are awaiting the results of the investigations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the Lebanese government will be in touch with UNIFIL to determine if the operation was conducted in coordination with them," Hamiyeh said. 

Kandice Ardiel, a spokesperson for the U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon, denied allegations by some local journalists who said that the peacekeepers helped the landing force in the operation. 

“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ardiel said.

أنباء عن عملية إنزال بحري في البترون استهدفت مسؤول حزب الله عماد أمهز pic.twitter.com/cTLvsk4gKK

— kataeb.org (@kataeb_Ar) November 2, 2024