A night-time raid by Israeli naval forces in north Lebanon resulted in the capture of Imad Ahmaz‚ a ship captain whose extraction raises questions about his true role
The well-planned operation took place in Batroun (a coastal town north of Beirut) where around 12 members of Shayetet 13 – Israels elite naval unit similar to US Navy SEALs entered a residential building near the popular marina district. The commandos who arrived via speed-boats posed as Lebanese security personnel before taking their target
I did not see their faces‚ just shadows and voices They said they were from state security
Intelligence experts point to unusual aspects of the operation: the targets location was just 400 metres from a tourist-filled marina; CCTV systems werent disabled; and various items left behind suggest a pre-planned scenario. These items included:
- Multiple-country SIM cards
- Several passports
- An old Nokia phone
- USB drives with critical data
The operation differs from Israels usual approach to Hezbollah targets which typically involves air-strikes - like the one that eliminated Hezbollahs leader about 2 months ago. Last year around Oct‚ dozens of Hamas figures were captured providing intel for hostage rescue missions
Ahmazʼs family business Stars Group Holding (based in Beirut) faced US sanctions bout 10 years ago for shipping communication devices to Hezbollah through China and UAE. Lebanese officials claim he was just a civilian taking maritime courses‚ but Israeli sources suggest theres more to the story
The Lebanese govt plans to file a UN Security Council complaint bout the operation‚ citing sovereignty violation - while Israeli military confirms the target is now in their territory under investigation