Hezbollah is seeking ways to abduct Israeli soldiers as part of its current confrontation with Israel, according to intelligence officials from a neighboring country cited by KAN News on Wednesday morning.
The report said the Iran-backed group views hostage-taking as a way to gain bargaining chips against Israel and bolster its standing inside Lebanon.
According to the report, Hezbollah is searching for “creative vulnerabilities” that could enable it to seize Israeli troops in areas along the border where the chances of success are higher.
KAN added that the terror group believes such an abduction could also complicate Israeli and Lebanese efforts to strip it of its weapons.
The report further said Hezbollah believes abducting soldiers could help it secure a more favorable ceasefire arrangement than the one reached in November 2024. It also noted that several Hezbollah operatives remain in Israeli custody, including a senior officer from the organization’s naval unit who was captured in an unusual Israeli raid in northern Lebanon.
Syria weighs closing off border to Lebanon
In parallel, a Syrian security source told KAN that forces loyal to Ahmad al-Sharaa are working to seal the Lebanon-Syria border as much as possible. According to the report, the aim is to block any Hezbollah attempt to enter Syrian territory and carry out actions or provocations against Israel that could entangle the Syrian regime.
KAN said Hezbollah and the broader pro-Iran axis have suffered a decline in their standing in Lebanon because of their involvement in the war involving Israel, the United States, and Iran. The report pointed to a sharp diplomatic step by Lebanon the previous evening, when Beirut declared Iran’s ambassador persona non grata and announced plans to expel him.
The KAN report comes as Israeli and regional assessments increasingly focus on whether Hezbollah is preparing for a longer confrontation in Lebanon, and whether Beirut can enforce efforts to dismantle the group’s military infrastructure.
The report suggests that Hezbollah believes abducting Israeli soldiers is being considered not only as an operational objective, but also as a political tool, one that the group believes could improve its leverage in any future negotiations and reinforce support in southern Lebanon.
