BEIRUT— The recent release of a video featuring Lebanese national Imad Amhaz—more than a year after his detention—signals a carefully calculated media and political maneuver by Tel Aviv.

Far from being a routine intelligence disclosure, the footage transforms a confidential interrogation record into a tool of strategic messaging aimed at shaping public perception, justifying operational measures, and influencing regional and international diplomacy.

The timing of the release is telling: Interrogation footage is typically kept classified as long as it retains operational value. 

By releasing it now, the Israeli occupation entity signals that any actionable intelligence has likely already been extracted. 

The video’s purpose has, therefore, shifted from information-gathering to psychological and political signaling.

In the footage, Amhaz appears weakened, barely able to move, restricted to minimal gestures, and responding to a scripted interrogation designed to produce the narrative Israel wishes to project. 

He is steered toward claiming that Hezbollah targets not only Tel Aviv but also Washington, a portrayal intended to expand the perceived threat of Hezbollah beyond the region. 

By presenting him as calm and cooperative under pressure, Israel also seeks to sow doubt within Hezbollah, undermine morale, and foster suspicion regarding the Resistance’s internal security.

The video further advances a narrative that Hezbollah exploits civilian shipping and port infrastructure.

By framing Lebanese maritime facilities as potential military assets, the Israeli enemy normalizes the idea that these sites constitute legitimate military targets. 

This justifies past strikes and creates a pretext for future operations under the guise of “self-defense.” 

References to assassinated leaders and internal organizational structures reinforce Tel Aviv’s portrayal of precise intelligence capabilities, reassuring domestic audiences while signaling operational reach to adversaries.

The footage also positions Hezbollah as a global security concern. 

Statements suggesting threats to Washington reinforce Western perceptions of the organization as a strategic threat, thereby sustaining political and military support for Israeli operations under the broader “counterterrorism” framework.

The timing of the video coincides with ongoing discussions about maritime oversight and port security in Beirut, indicating that its release aims to influence diplomatic discourse, justify stricter external supervision of Lebanese ports, and shape the narrative in favor of the occupation regime’s so–called “operational freedom.”

The circumstances surrounding Amhaz’s detention highlight the complexity of the operation.

On November 1, 2024, during the U.S.–Israeli–led war against Lebanon, an Israeli commando unit abducted Amhaz from a chalet he had rented just a month prior in Batroun, northern Lebanon.

CCTV footage reportedly shows personnel in Lebanese security uniforms accompanied by others in civilian attire.

Hezbollah has no military presence in Batroun, which falls under Lebanese army authority. 

The operation, which lasted approximately four minutes, allegedly involved reconnaissance and naval deployment, raising questions about UNIFIL’s effectiveness and the potential complicity of foreign forces monitoring Lebanese waters.

Ultimately, the Amhaz video is less an intelligence revelation than a sophisticated instrument of strategic communication.

Its objectives are multifaceted: to legitimize Israeli pressure on Lebanese infrastructure, undermine Hezbollah’s internal cohesion, and shape regional and international perceptions. 

While the operational intelligence may have long expired, the video continues to resonate across media, politics, and diplomacy, reflecting the occupation entity’s ongoing efforts to consolidate influence and control over Lebanon’s maritime domain.