Israel claims it has captured a senior Hezbollah operative after conducting a seaborne raid in northern Lebanon early on Friday.
The “special operation” in the coastal town of Batroun marks the first time Israel has acknowledged deploying troops that far north during its current campaign against Hezbollah.
“The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently being investigated,” an Israeli military official said.
CCTV footage obtained by Sky News from the street where the operation allegedly took place appears to show a large group of soldiers leading a person away with their hands held behind their back and their face covered by their shirt.
Recounting the event, residents of the apartment block where the person was seized said the armed group introduced themselves as state security.
“I heard a voice outside my door shouting ‘state security’,” Hussein Delbani told Sky News, adding that the voice spoke in Arabic.
“I went to my balcony and saw soldiers. I didn’t see their faces, just their shadows. There were about 10 of them.”
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Mr Delbani and his family were displaced from south Lebanon a month ago after the conflict escalated.
He moved to Batroun with his wife Rania and their four-year-old son, believing they were far enough away from the fighting.
But when Sky News spoke to him, his family was in the process of fleeing again, busy loading up their car with their belongings.
“It’s terrifying,” Rania said.
“You feel there isn’t a place any longer that’s safe. Where else are we supposed to go?”
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A senior Lebanese security official confirmed to Sky News that a naval force landed in Batroun and abducted a Lebanese citizen.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, did not give the person’s identity.
Lebanese transport minister Ali Hamiye, who represents Hezbollah in Lebanon’s government, told local media that the person who was captured was a civilian sea captain.
Soon after Israel went public about the operation, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued a statement demanding an investigation.
He also called on his foreign minister to file an urgent complaint with the UN Security Council.
