Following Arab reports, it was cleard for publication on Saturday evening that in a special operation by the Shayetet 13 commando unit in the town of Batrun in northern Lebanon, a senior Hezbollah operative was detained. He was transferred to Israel and interrogated by Unit 504.
Arab media reported at noon (Saturday) that a large naval force of more than 25 fighters, suspected of being Israeli, arrived on the shores of Batrun yesterday and captured a Hezbollah operative who was in a building in the area, about 140 kilometers from the border with Israel.
The IDF confirmed that in a special commando operation together with the navy, the flotilla's force detained a Hezbollah operative, "who is a source of knowledge in the maritime field."
"We will act in all ways in the war with Hezbollah and in all combat methods in order to harm the organization and produce quality intelligence for us over the enemy. We will act wherever we can in capturing significant targets, as happened in southern Lebanon as well," the army said.
An Israeli security source earlier confirmed to Sky News in Arabic that the man had been captured deep inside Lebanon, and Saudi television channel Al-Hadath reported that the senior official who was captured was Imad Amhaz. According to the report, Hezbollah denied any connection to him.
On the other hand, the Lebanese channel Al-Jadid claimed that Amhaz is an officer in the Lebanese navy, and that "it is clear that he works or is connected to Hezbollah." However, the Saudi Al-Arabiya newspaper said, citing sources, that he does not serve in the Lebanese army.