Israeli naval forces conducted a "special operation" in the coastal city of Batroun in northern Lebanon early Friday morning. The military, on speedboats, captured a man whom Israel identified as a high-ranking Hezbollah militant, Imad Ahmaz, during a sea and land operation that marked the deepest incursion of Israeli forces into Lebanese territory during this war, writes The New York Times.
Primarily, the Israeli campaign is limited to air bombardments of southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as the area south of Beirut, where Hezbollah strongholds supported by Iran are located. Israeli ground forces have so far operated only in the south of the country. The captured militant was transferred to Israeli territory, where an investigation is underway.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for an investigation into the abduction of a Lebanese citizen from the northern coastal city of Batroun, according to a statement from Mikati's office on Saturday. He also urged Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council, the statement added.
Hezbollah called the incident "Zionist aggression in the Batroun area," but did not confirm that one of its members was captured. Batroun, a predominantly Christian city, is not a Hezbollah support base, but in recent weeks it has been flooded with residents from nearby Beirut fleeing Israeli bombings.
The day before, the Israel Defense Forces reported the elimination of one of the last high-ranking members of Hamas's political bureau. According to an IDF press release, Izz ad-Din Kassab, a member of Hamas's political bureau with authority to lead attacks on Israel, was killed. He was responsible for national relations, overseeing communication between Hamas and other militants in the Gaza Strip, the military stated.
Photo: Ibrahim Chalhoub/Agence France-Presse