Lebanon official says Israeli commandos jammed UNIFIL radar in abduction operation

Lebanese soldiers inspect the beach at a reported landing site for Israeli naval commandos who captured a Hezbollah official in a raid in the northern coastal town of Batroun on November 2, 2024. (Ibrahim Chalhoub / AFP)
Lebanese soldiers inspect the beach at a reported landing site for Israeli naval commandos who captured a Hezbollah official in a raid in the northern coastal town of Batroun on November 2, 2024. (Ibrahim Chalhoub / AFP)

A preliminary probe finds that Israeli commandos used a speedboat equipped with radar-jamming devices during the abduction of a Lebanese man accused of being a Hezbollah operative, a Lebanese judicial official tells AFP Tuesday.

The initial findings suggest that “the Israeli army used a high-speed vessel equipped with advanced devices capable of jamming radars” belonging to the United Nations peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) that monitors the Lebanese coast, the official says, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The probe into the abduction operation on Saturday is jointly conducted by the Lebanese police and judiciary.

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.

Germany has headed UNIFIL’s maritime task force since January 2021.

On Saturday, Israeli naval commandos seized a man that a military official described as a “senior operative” of Hezbollah in a raid in northern Lebanon and brought him to Israel for questioning.

He was identified as Imad Amhaz.

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