Israeli forces have detained a high-ranking Hezbollah operative in northern Lebanon, an Israeli military official said.

BATROUN, Lebanon (AP) — An Israeli military official said Saturday that the Israeli navy captured a high-ranking Hezbollah operative in northern Lebanon.

The operation was carried out in the city of Batroun in northern Lebanon, the official said, without giving the name of the detained person.

Earlier on Saturday, Lebanese authorities said they were investigating whether Israel was behind the capture of a Lebanese sea captain who was taken by a group of armed men who landed on the coast of Batroun on Friday.

“The operative has been transferred to Israeli territory and is currently under investigation.” – said the official.

THIS IS BREAKING NEWS. A previous AP story is below.

BATROUN, Lebanon (AP) — A Lebanese sea captain was taken by a group of gunmen who landed on the coast of the city of Batroun, north of Beirut, and authorities said Saturday they were investigating whether Israel was involved.

Two Lebanese military officials confirmed to The Associated Press that naval forces landed in Batroun, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut, and abducted a Lebanese national. No one has identified the man or said whether he is believed to have had ties to Lebanese group Hezbollah. They did not confirm whether the men were armed by Israeli forces.

Speaking to Lebanon’s Al-Jadeed TV, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hami declined to elaborate or answer questions about whether it was considered an Israeli operation.

Three Lebanese judicial officials told the AP that the incident occurred at dawn on Friday, adding that the captain may have had ties to Hezbollah. Officials said an investigation was looking into whether the man was linked to Hezbollah or working for the Israeli spy service, and Israeli forces arrived to rescue him.

Both military and judicial officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share details about the incident or the ongoing investigation.

Hezbollah issued a statement calling what happened “Zionist aggression in the Batroun area.” The statement did not provide details or confirm whether one of the Hezbollah members was captured by Israel.

Israel’s armed forces said they were looking into local media reports that their forces had captured a high-ranking Hezbollah operative during the operation. Israel has done in the past commando operations deep in Lebanon to kidnap or kill Hezbollah and Palestinian officials.

According to the residents of the residential building where the man was captured, the armed group presented itself as state security.

“We were scared. They broke into the apartment next to ours,” Hussein Delbani told The Associated Press not far from where the man was detained. “I thought a government agency was conducting a security operation,” said Delbani, who was displaced from southern Lebanon a month ago when the Israel-Hezbollah war broke out.

He said he saw people on the waterfront from his balcony and they shouted again for him to come inside.

Hami told Al-Jadid that the man was a civilian ship captain. He graduated in 2022 and at the end of September joined Batrun Institute of Marine Science and Technology for additional courses. Hemi said the man lived about 300 meters (980 feet) from the institute.

Hami’s remarks came shortly after two Lebanese journalists posted a video on social media showing about 20 armed men taking a man from under a house with his face covered by a shirt.

Candice Ardiel, a spokeswoman for UN peacekeeping forces stationed in southern Lebanon, denied accusations by some local journalists that the peacekeepers were assisting the ground forces in the operation. The UN mission, known as UNIFIL, has a naval force monitoring the coast.

“Disinformation and false rumors are irresponsible and put peacekeepers at risk,” Ardiel said.

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Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Sally Abu Aljud in Beirut and Natalie Meltzer in Tel Aviv, Israel contributed to this report.

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