Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.

According to local broadcaster MTV, General Aoun explained that Lebanon operates ten maritime radars, yet certain areas close to shore remain undetectable, with specific points along the coast that radar cannot capture. Small boats, especially those lacking tracking devices, often evade detection when moving at particular speeds. Additionally, radar systems tend to misinterpret environmental factors; for instance, boats and ships appear as yellow dots on radar screens, but wave speed and height frequently cause these signals to flicker on and off, resulting in misleading or false alarms.

Aoun suggested that Israel's Shayetet 13 unit used Lebanon’s radar blind spots to its advantage. The Israeli forces, he posited, likely approached Lebanese waters using larger vessels before transferring to smaller boats near the maritime border. These boats, akin to local fishing vessels that lack trackable devices, allowed Israeli forces to move closer to shore undetected.

The team, then, landed near Batroun’s fishermen’s port, selecting an angle that radar systems could not monitor, enabling the unit to conduct its operation covertly, Aoun further speculated. 

In addition to radar limitations, Aoun highlighted concerns about external interference. According to his analysis, the Israeli forces may have deliberately disrupted Lebanon’s radar system during the operation, rendering it less effective. Aoun added that monitoring radars in northern Lebanon have experienced jamming since the onset of the Syrian war, reportedly caused by Russian equipment.