The IDF on riday released rare interrogation footage of Imad Amhaz, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s naval unit who was captured about a year ago in a covert commando raid on Lebanon’s northern coast, dubbed Operation Behind the Back.
According to the IDF, Amhaz was seized during a November operation by Shayetet 13, Israel’s elite naval commando unit, in the coastal town of Batroun, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) north of the Israeli border. The operation drew widespread attention in Lebanon and across the Arab world because of its depth and boldness.
In the footage, Amhaz describes the command structure of Hezbollah’s secret maritime project, saying it was overseen directly by the group’s slain leader Hassan Nasrallah and by Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s former chief of staff, who was also later killed. He identified Ali Abd al-Hassan al-Nour as a senior official still alive and responsible for the project.
The IDF said Amhaz served in Hezbollah’s coastal missile unit and underwent extensive training in Iran and Lebanon. He also studied at a civilian maritime institute in Lebanon as part of what the military described as a cover for terror-related activity at sea.
During his interrogation in Israel, Amhaz said he played a central role in what he called Hezbollah’s “secret maritime file,” one of the organization’s most classified and compartmentalized projects. According to the IDF, the project was intended to establish a covert maritime terror infrastructure disguised as civilian activity, targeting Israeli and international interests.
IDF commandos capturing Amhaz
(צילום: רויטרס )
“This work has to remain secret. It’s not logical for someone known as an organization member to operate openly,” Amhaz said in the interrogation footage. “If someone with a senior role suddenly goes out to sea, it immediately raises suspicion.”
Amhaz told interrogators the unit carried out a wide range of activities, including the transfer of personnel and military equipment via commercial vessels. He said Israel was a primary target, but added that Hezbollah also considers the United States an enemy.
IDF Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that exposing the chain of command behind the secret maritime project, combined with intelligence obtained from Amhaz’s interrogation, allowed Israel to disrupt the project at a critical stage and prevent it from becoming operational.
“The secret maritime project, like Hezbollah’s other naval units, exists thanks to ideological and financial support from Iran,” Adraee said.
Arab media previously reported that more than 25 Shayetet 13 commandos took part in the Batroun raid, abducting Amhaz from a building near the coast. At the time, Israeli officials described him as a key operational figure in Hezbollah’s maritime attack capabilities, similar to those used during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.