Kidnapping of a captain in Batroun: what we know

The Israeli army in… Batroun. At dawn on Friday, a man, identified as Imad Amhaz, a young navy captain, was kidnapped under mysterious circumstances in this town in northern Lebanon. This operation was only claimed on Saturday evening by the Israeli army, whose radio indicated on the X network that “the 13th naval unit (Shayetet 13) arrested a member of Hezbollah near a knowledge center in the maritime domain. We will capture key members everywhere and we will succeed,” adds the text. This kidnapping is currently the subject of an investigation in Lebanon to determine the circumstances. This operation is a first since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah on October 8, 2023. Earlier, journalist of Israeli origin Barak Ravid, contributor to the American media Axios, affirmed, citing an Israeli official, that Navy commandos effectively “captured a key member of Hezbollah’s naval force in an operation in northern Lebanon.” The Israeli official added that the kidnapped man is “being detained for questioning regarding Hezbollah’s naval operations.” Hezbollah did not respond to our requests for comment.

Complaint to the UN

According to surveillance camera images taken at the scene, which the OLJ could not independently identify, we can see at least fifteen armed men forcibly taking away a man in civilian clothes. The outgoing Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamiyé, told the al-Jadeed channel that the content of the video circulating on Saturday had been verified and that he was “awaiting the results of the investigation”. The outgoing Prime Minister, Nagib Mikati, spoke with the commander-in-chief of the army, General Joseph Aoun, “about the kidnapping of the Lebanese Imad Amhaz in Batroun”, indicated in the evening a press release from the Serail . He also spoke with officials of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) and asked the head of Lebanese diplomacy Abdallah Bou Habib to send an urgent complaint to the UN Security Council following this operation. Minister Hamiyé, for his part, told al-Jadeed that the kidnapped man was a “captain of civil and commercial ships”. According to information from our correspondent in the North, Michel Hallak, who went to the scene, the kidnapped individual was temporarily residing in a studio on the first floor of a building by the sea, in the north of the city, near the city’s Institute of Maritime Science and Technology, where he was taking classes. Contacted by the OLJ, the institute refused to comment. According to an identity document of the alleged target, distributed by several media, Imad Amhaz is from Kouakh, in Hermel, and lives in Qmatiyé, a Shiite village in the Caza de Aley where several Israeli strikes have recently taken place on apartments or vehicles. linked to members of Hezbollah.

On site in Batroun, patrols of the Lebanese army and the Internal Security Forces (ISF) were deployed, and all security cameras in the surrounding area were recovered by the police for the purposes of the investigation. , just like those located on the route taken by the kidnappers to get from the beach to the apartment and vice versa. Security forces also heard testimonies from residents of the building and neighboring buildings.

At the end?

And while some media had mentioned an alleged role of Blue Helmets in the kidnapping, their deputy spokesperson denied, in a brief press release, any involvement. “UNIFIL was not involved in facilitating a kidnapping, nor in any other violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” we read in this text. Misinformation and rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk. » Mr. Hamiyé, close to the Shiite tandem, had indicated on al-Jadeed that the Lebanese authorities intended to communicate with UNIFIL in order to find out if the operation in Batroun had taken place “in cooperation” with it.

For its part, the American channel CNN, citing an Israeli military official, affirms that the young man is currently the subject of an investigation by Unit 504, the intelligence branch of the Israeli army. Members of the elite Israeli force “Shayetet 13” kidnapped the Lebanese man at dawn on Friday on the Batroun coast. The Israeli military has previously described “Shayetet 13” missions as involving “strategic sabotage activities across enemy lines, including the damage to crucial wartime structures and enemy seaports.”

On Sunday morning, Imad Amhaz’s father denied reports of his son’s ties to Hezbollah, saying in a statement that “Imad is a civilian maritime captain.” “He is a captain in the civil navy and was training in Batroun at the Marsati Institute of Marine Sciences,” the father said. It wasn’t his first class. He has completed several courses at the same institute since 2013. He usually works on civilian ships transporting livestock or cars, and spends most of his time at sea.” The father stressed that his son “is not related to no political party and does not get involved in politics. Commenting on media allegations that the captive had multiple identity documents and SIM cards, Mr. Amhaz said his son “buys a SIM card in every country he goes to” as part of his work, ” to stay in touch with his wife, his three children and his mother. The father further explained that his son used a maritime passport for sea travel and a regular passport for his trips back to Lebanon. “The Lebanese government and the German force responsible for maritime surveillance (within UNIFIL) should bear responsibility for having facilitated this kidnapping,” according to him. He also took on “the Lebanese navy, which is supposed to protect the Lebanese people”. Faced with this situation, the father launched an appeal to international organizations, asking the International Red Cross and UNIFIL to intervene “to ensure the safe return” of his son.