BEIRUT

The father of a Lebanese sea captain kidnapped in a suspected Israeli naval operation has denied any ties for his son with Hezbollah.

A Lebanese citizen was kidnapped on Friday by armed men in Batroun, about 30 kilometers north of Beirut.

Lebanese authorities said that they were investigating whether Israel was behind the kidnap, saying that the abductee was a sea captain and identified him as Imad Emhez.

“My son has no affiliation with political parties, nor does he engage in politics,” Fadil Emhez said in a message published by Lebanese media on Sunday.

He said his son is a sea captain and was undergoing training at the Marsati Institute for Marine Sciences in Batroun when he was abducted.

The father blamed the Lebanese government and a German force responsible for monitoring the Lebanese shores for his son’s abduction.

He called on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) “to intervene with the abductors and return Imad safely to his family."

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday that his country will file a complaint with the UN Security Council over the captain’s abduction.

Israel has escalated its air campaign in Lebanon since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from year-long cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip.

More than 2,900 people have been killed and over 13,000 injured in Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict by launching an incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi