Israeli forces capture sr Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon, claim officials

Israeli naval forces captured a senior Hezbollah operative in north Lebanon an Israeli military official said Saturday as the conflict between the Iranbacked group and Israel showed few signs of easing 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 near the northern town of Batroun on FridayThe operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated the military official said without providing the name of the person in detention The operation marks the first time Israel has announced it deployed troops deep into northern Lebanon to take a senior Hezbollah operative captive since the conflict between the two sides escalated in late SeptemberSince then Israeli forces began a ground invasion of southern Lebanon and intensified its airstrikes across the country including southern Beirut and the eastern Bekaa valley killing most of Hezbollahs senior commanders Hezbollah issued a statement describing what happened as a Zionist aggression in the Batroun area The statement did not give details or confirm whether a Hezbollah member was captured by IsraelTwo Lebanese military officials confirmed to The Associated Press that a naval force landed in Batroun about 30 km 18 miles north of Beirut and abducted a Lebanese citizen Neither gave the mans identity or said whether he was thought to have links to Lebanons Hezbollah group They did not confirm whether the armed men were an Israeli forceThree Lebanese judicial officials told AP the operation took place at dawn Friday adding that the captain might have links with Hezbollah The officials said an investigation is looking into whether the man is linked to Hezbollah or working for an Israeli spy agency and an Israeli force came to rescue him Both the military and judicial officials spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were unauthorized to share details about the incident or the ongoing investigationSoon after Israel went public about the operation Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati called on Lebanons foreign minister to file a complaint against Israel at the UN Security Council Israel has carried out in the past commando operations deep inside Lebanon to kidnap or kill Hezbollah and Palestinian officials Recounting the event Lebanese residents from the apartment building where the man was seized said the armed group introduced themselves as state securityWe 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 said Delbani who was displaced from south Lebanon a month ago when the IsraelHezbollah war erupted He said he saw from his balcony people down on the coast and they screamed again for him to go insideHamie told AlJadeed the man was a captain of civilian ships He graduated in 2022 and in late September joined the Batrouns Maritime Sciences and Technology Institute for additional courses Hamie said that the man lived some 300 metres 980 feet from the institute Hamies remarks came shortly after two Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing what appeared to be about 20 armed men taking away a man from in front a house his face covered with his shirtKandice Ardiel a spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force deployed in south Lebanon denied allegations by some local journalists who said that the peacekeepers helped the landing force in the operation The UN mission known as UNIFIL has a maritime force that monitors the coast Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk Ardiel saidHezbollah began firing rockets drones and missiles from Lebanon into Israel in solidarity with Hamas immediately after the Hamasled Oct 7 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the war in Gaza The yearlong crossborder fighting boiled over to fullblown war on Oct 1 when Israeli forces launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon for the first time since 2006This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever