Was ‘Hezbollah operative’ abducted by Israeli special forces actually a double agent who was being rescued during a daring IDF snatch-and-grab mission?

Questions are mounting over whether a ‘Hezbollah operative’ taken by Israeli special forces might have actually been a double agent.

In a daring mission Israeli forces snatched Imad Ahmaz, a Lebanese ship captain, from a building in the Northern Lebanese city of Batroun on Friday.

The dramatic raid involved at least 12 naval commandos from Shayetet 13 – Israel’s version of the Royal Navy’s elite Special Boat Service – who moved Mr Ahmaz to an unknown location in the Mediterranean sea. 

Intelligence experts have claimed the remarkably different operation to remove Mr Ahmaz – compared to recent operations in Lebanon – suggests he could have been working as a double agent. 

Posing as Lebanese security forces the Israelis broke down Mr Ahmaz’s apartment door before they ferried him back to their ship. 

Posing as Lebanese security forces the Israelis broke down Mr Ahmaz’s apartment door before they ferried him back to their ship

Intelligence experts have claimed the remarkably different operation to remove Mr Ahmaz – compared to recent operations in Lebanon – suggests he could have been working as a double agent

Since the war with Hamas started following the October 7 attack Israel has captured dozens of high-level Hamas figures. 

However, during the recent conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon, Israeli forces have focused on air strikes to take out Hezbollah leaders. This only adds to the apparent peculiarities of Friday’s operation. 

An anonymous senior political figure in Lebanon, who opposes Hezbollah, told The Daily Telegraph that there were ‘signs pointing to the fact that [Mr Ahmaz] could have been a double agent’.

Meanwhile Ronen Solomon, an Israeli defence and intelligence analyst who is an expert on Hezbollah operatives and operations said the abduction was unusual.

Mr Solomon claimed that items found in his house such as SIM cards and multiple passports suggests he could have been a spy. 

His alleged work as a senior operative in a Hezbollah unit that specialised in transporting weapons and electronics used in the fight against Israel mean he could have been recruited by the country. 

An anonymous source from Israel also speculated it was unusual for CCTV footage not t have been disabled as if someone wanted video proof of the abduction. 

Meanwhile following the incursion into Lebanon – which is the most northerly operation held by Israel since the war started – the country’s   

caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said he had ordered the government to file a complaint to the UN Security Council over the abduction, citing the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty.