Israeli naval commandos have kidnapped a senior Hezbollah operative during an operation in the northern Lebanese city of Batroun, officials said on Saturday.
Lebanese authorities said earlier Saturday they were investigating whether Israel was behind the arrest of a sea captain taken by a group of armed men near the coastal town of Batroun, The Associated Press reported.
It is the first time Israel has announced that it has deployed troops in northern Lebanon to continue its fight against the Iranian-backed militant group.
Hezbollah and Israel have seen an escalation in military activities as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) continues its fight in the region, more than a year after it began fighting Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza.
The escalating tensions, which have seen top Hezbollah leaders killed and Iran firing missiles into Israel, have raised concerns that the conflict could become a wider regional war.
Hezbollah released a statement describing Saturday’s incident as “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area.”
It did not confirm whether any member had been captured, but two Lebanese military officials confirmed to The Associated Press that a naval force had landed in the town, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Beirut, and that a Lebanese citizen had been kidnapped.
Three Lebanese judicial officials told the news service that the operation took place early Friday. They said they were working to determine whether the man had ties to Hezbollah or worked for an Israeli spy agency and was rescued by the IDF.
The Associated Press contributed.
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