The "profile sheet" of Lebanese civilian navy captain Imad Amhaz, published by the Israeli army who has been holding him in detention since last year's war. (Photo taken from the X account of @avichayadraee)
The Israeli army released a video on Friday purporting to reveal confessions made by Lebanese civilian naval captain Imad Amhaz, who was abducted by an Israeli army commando from the northern Lebanese coastal city of Batroun in November 2024 and has been in Israeli detention since.
Israeli media published alleged "revelations" concerning what was described as Hezbollah's "Coastal Missile Unit 7900," which it said were based on Amhaz's confessions.
In a message posted on X, the Arabic-language Israeli army spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, stated that Hezbollah’s maritime file was "concealed under civilian cover" and was directly led by the party’s former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in September 2024.
He asserted that Imad Amhaz was "one of the main members of the confidential file" and a member of "Coastal Missile Unit 7900," and confirmed the previous day’s reporting by the right-wing Israeli outlet Israel Hayom that the captain had "received military training in Iran (in 2007) and in Lebanon."
Adree further accused Hezbollah of using civilian infrastructures to train Ahmaz, specifically the civilian maritime institute based in Batroun.
According to him, the "neutralization" of the chain of command of this Hezbollah maritime unit, including particularly Nasrallah and the party’s former military chief, Fouad Shukur — killed on July 30, 2024, in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburb — and the "information obtained from Amhaz during his interrogation" enabled Tel Aviv to "thwart progress on this file."
Video of Imad Amhaz’s 'confessions'
Adree also released a video showing Amhaz being interrogated in Arabic in a white-walled room. An Israeli flag is hung on the wall behind him. The man appears dressed in a gray sweatshirt, similar to those worn by other Hezbollah fighters whose videos were released by the Israeli army in recent months after their capture in southern Lebanon.
During his interrogation, by a person not shown on camera, the captain abducted in Batroun gives the names of people within Hezbollah who were reportedly aware of Hezbollah’s naval development project, including Shukur and "obviously, Nasrallah."
An organizational chart published by the Israeli army suggests that the hierarchy overseeing the project also included "Ali Abdel Hassan Noureddine," an official believed to be still alive, acting as an intermediary between Shukur and Ahmaz. The latter stated in the interrogation video that he had met Shukur.
'As long as you have a crew, a ship and agents'
In the video, he also emphasizes that confidentiality was necessary for the project to avoid "suspicion" during activities at sea. Amhaz also says the operations he was responsible for aimed to ensure transportation links, including for people, "across commercial vessels" to carry out "operations against the State of Israel," mentioning "attacks," among other things, planned by Unit 1200 against Israeli interests, including abroad.
"As long as you have a crew, a ship and agents, you can act against anything, anyone, or any party," he explains.
Adraee additionally provides a brief biography of Ahmaz’s alleged exploits, in which he is said to have "fought in his youth alongside Bashar al-Assad’s regime forces," and states his brother was reportedly a member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit.
Aside from Amhaz, the Israeli army still holds at least 20 Lebanese, either civilians or Hezbollah members, in its prisons, many of whom were abducted during the Israeli ground operation in southern Lebanon.Following "revelations" in the Israeli press concerning Hezbollah’s "confidential" maritime file, reportedly based on confessions made by Lebanese civilian naval captain Imad Amhaz — a purported member of Hezbollah abducted by an amphibious commando in Batroun, northern Lebanon, in November 2024 — the Israeli army on Friday released details about this unit and a video showing Amhaz’s alleged confessions.
