Israeli raid in Lebanon: Maritime captain abducted in 4-minute operation

Shafaq News/ An Israeli operation in the northern Lebanese coastal town of Batroun resulted in the abduction of maritime captain Imad Amhaz.

Lebanese media reported, on Sunday, that the operation, reportedly conducted by 20 operatives including two civilians, lasted only four minutes.

According to sources, Amhaz, a maritime captain with no known ties to Lebanese security agencies, had rented the Batroun apartment about a month ago for studies at the Marine Institute.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said that “security forces were investigating the incident,” as reported by Reuters. The forces discovered approximately “10 foreign SIM cards, a mobile phone, and a foreign passport in his apartment.”

Additionally, Lebanese security forces retrieved surveillance footage from CCTV around the apartment, though Israel allegedly “erased the data remotely.”

Locals told NNA that “an unidentified military force carried out an amphibious landing on Batroun beach, fully armed, and moved to a nearby chalet, where they abducted a Lebanese national present at the location. The team then returned to the beach and departed swiftly on speedboats.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has “called for an investigation into the kidnapping of a Lebanese citizen,” a statement from Mikati's office said on Saturday. Mikati consulted with Lebanese military and UNIFIL officials and called for Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council, as per the statement.