Lebanese probe claims IDF commandos snuck ashore in speedboats, jammed UNIFIL radars
Lebanese Army presents alleged details of Israeli infiltration last weekend in which a Hezbollah official was nabbed, says boats were equipped with devices that prevented detection
A preliminary Lebanese probe revealed new alleged details Tuesday about an Israeli naval raid last weekend in northern Lebanon in which commandos captured a Hezbollah operative.
Speaking to AFP on Tuesday, a Lebanese judicial official said that the probe had found that operatives from the Israeli Navy’s Shayetet 13 commando unit entered Lebanese waters in a speedboat equipped with radar-jamming devices that evaded detection by Lebanon’s and UNIFIL’s naval radars during the raid in Batroun, south of Tripoli, some 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of Israel’s maritime border with Lebanon.
The initial findings suggest that “the Israeli army used a high-speed vessel equipped with advanced devices capable of jamming radars,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The probe into the operation is being jointly conducted by the Lebanese police and judiciary.
The Lebanese Addiyar news outlet reported that the new information on the raid was presented by Lebanese Armed Forces commander Gen. Joseph Aoun to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Tuesday.
The probe reportedly found that the naval radars failed to track the boats due to the high speed at which they were traveling. Aoun also reportedly noted that waves can further disrupt the accuracy of radar detection when it comes to small boats.
Once they neared land, the commandos approached a fishing port from an area outside of the radar’s range and docked in a blind spot. They also used advanced devices capable of jamming radars to disrupt the signal, Addiyar reported, ensuring that even if the commandos were detected, Lebanese forces would not be alerted to their presence.
The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Akhbar news outlet reported on Sunday that Friday’s raid lasted a mere four minutes and involved some 20 operatives disguised as Lebanese security forces, along with several unidentified civilians. It also estimated that some Israeli special forces had likely been in the area for reconnaissance and surveillance before the operation.
The target of the raid was Hezbollah operative Imad Amhaz, who Israel says is a senior officer in the terror group’s naval forces.
After his capture, Amhaz was taken to Israel to be questioned by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 504 — which specializes in human intelligence — about Hezbollah’s naval operations.
Citing sources familiar with the ongoing probe, Addiyar reported that Lebanese naval forces were not alerted to any suspicious activity along the coastline by the UNIFIL maritime task force, headed by Germany.
The UN peacekeeping maritime task force has helped Lebanon’s army monitor territorial waters and prevent the entry of arms or related material by sea since 2006, according to the mission’s website.
The Lebanese army is awaiting clarification from UNIFIL as to why no alert was issued, the sources reportedly said.
UNIFIL has denied involvement in the Israeli operation, and an unnamed deputy spokesperson told the Saudi Asharq News channel last week that the organization “has no involvement in facilitating any kidnapping or any other violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
The Lebanese judicial official told AFP that Lebanese authorities “cannot probe UNIFIL forces or request they provide information or footage captured by their radars because they have immunity.”
According to Addiyar, Aoun also broached the matter of eroded trust in Lebanon’s armed forces as a result of the raid and warned Mikati that public criticism of the military and its commanders would only serve the interests of Israel, which he claimed is trying to sow discord among Lebanon’s institutions and instigate a civil war.
The Friday raid came as Israel pressed on with its military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The operation aims to allow the fade return of some 60,000 displaced residents of northern Israel who were evacuated from their homes near the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, amid fears Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack and persistent rocket fire by the terror group.
After warning for nearly a year that it would not tolerate the ongoing attacks, Israel launched a major operation against Hezbollah in September, eliminating much of its leadership and crippling some of its fighting capabilities.
In October, it launched a ground offensive in Lebanon’s south to clear the border area of terror infrastructure it said was to be used in an October 7-style attack on northern communities.
