An Israeli military official says Israeli forces have captured a senior Hezbollah operative in northern Lebanon

BATROUN, Lebanon (AP) — An Israeli military official said Saturday that Israeli naval forces have captured a senior Hezbollah operative in northern Lebanon.

The operation took place in the northern Lebanese town of Batroun, the official said, without naming the person they had detained.

Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said they were investigating whether Israel was behind the capture of a Lebanese sea captain, who was taken by a group of armed men who landed on the coast of Batroun on Friday.

“The officer has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently under investigation.” the official said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

BATROUN, Lebanon (AP) — A Lebanese sea captain was taken by a group of armed men who landed on the coast of the town of Batroun north of Beirut. Authorities said Saturday they were investigating whether Israel was involved.

Two Lebanese military officials confirmed to the Associated Press that a naval force had landed in Batroun, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut, and kidnapped a Lebanese national. Neither of them revealed the man’s identity or whether there were any links to him The Lebanese Hezbollah group. They did not confirm whether the armed men were an Israeli force.

Speaking to Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamie declined to go into details or answer questions about whether it was believed to be an Israeli operation.

Three Lebanese judicial officials told AP that the incident took place at dawn on Friday, adding that the captain could have ties to Hezbollah. The officials said the man was being investigated for links to Hezbollah or working for an Israeli spy agency and that an Israeli force came to rescue him.

Both military and judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.

Hezbollah issued a statement calling the events a “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area.” The statement provided no details and did not confirm whether any of the Hezbollah members were captured by Israel.

The Israeli military said it was investigating local media reports that its forces had captured a senior member of the Hezbollah naval force during the operation. Israel has done this in the past commando operations deep in Lebanon to kidnap or assassinate Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.

Residents of the apartment complex where the man was arrested said the armed group presented itself as state security.

“We were terrified. They broke into the apartment next to ours,” Hussein Delbani told The Associated Press, near where the man was arrested. “I thought a state agency was carrying out a security operation,” said Delbani, who was expelled from southern Lebanon a month ago when war broke out between Israel and Hezbollah.

He said he saw people on the seashore from his balcony and they shouted again for him to go inside.

Hamie told Al-Jadeed that the man was a captain of civilian ships. He graduated in 2022 and entered Batroun’s Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for additional courses in late September. Hamie said the man lived about 300 meters from the institute.

Hamie’s comments came shortly after two Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing 20 armed men taking away a man in front of a house, his face covered by his shirt.

Kandice Ardiel, a spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon, denied accusations by some local journalists who said the peacekeepers helped the landing force in the operation. The UN mission, known as UNIFIL, has a maritime force that monitors the coast.

“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and endanger peacekeepers,” Ardiel said.

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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Sally Abou Aljoud in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

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