Israeli naval forces captured a sea captain who they allege is a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, an Israeli military official says.
The operation took place in the northern Lebanese town of Batroun, the official said without providing the name of the person they detained.
Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said it was investigating whether Israel was behind the capture of a Lebanese sea captain who was taken away by a group of armed men who had landed on the coast of Batroun on Friday.
“The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated.” the official said.
Residents of the apartment building where the man was seized said the armed group introduced themselves as state security.
"We were terrified. They were breaking into the apartment next to ours," Hussein Delbani told The Associated Press near where the man was captured.
"I thought a state agency was doing a security operation."
He said he saw from his balcony people down on the coast and they screamed again for him to go inside.
Minister of public works and transport Ali Hamie told Al-Jadeed TV the man was a captain of civilian ships.
He graduated in 2022 and in late September joined the Batroun's Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for additional courses.
