Vanishing act by Israeli ‘spy’ in Lebanon puts Ukraine embassy under lens, Hezbollah left fuming

The Mossad 'spy', holding Ukrainian citizenship, has upended Lebanese politics after escaping a Hezbollah prison and allegedly seeking refuge in Ukrainian Embassy, reports AP.

Smoke rises in southern Lebanon following an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border | Reuters/Ammar Awad

New Delhi: An alleged Mossad spy of Palestinian origin, holding Ukrainian citizenship, escaped from a Hezbollah prison in March and was allegedly found taking refuge in the Ukrainian embassy, according to an Associated Press (AP) report Wednesday.

Khaled-al Aydi, as identified by Lebanese officials, had been in Lebanon since August, 2025 and was accused of orchestrating plots of assassination and bombardings, including a thwarted plot to bomb public events marking the first anniversary of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s assassination in an Israeli strike.

Details of his escape were provided by three judicial officials and two senior security officials in Lebanon, who also stated that six others, all Lebanese, were also charged, according to the report. One of them also managed to escape.

The ‘spy’ had earlier been captured by Hezbollah in September 2025 and was held at the Hezbollah cell in Beirut.

According to a Lebanese government document obtained by AP, the Ukrainian Embassy request to facilitate the departure of al-Aydi in March following his escape, has been refused by Lebanon due to an active arrest warrant issued against him in September, 2025.

With Hezbollah being in a constant tussle to root out the Israeli intelligence, who infiltrate the militant group using human and high-tech surveillance, the Lebanese government’s silence on this matter is stirring the political situation in Beirut.

If evidence emerges implicating the Lebanese government’s role in the escape, it will severely escalate the tensions between the state and militant group, whose relations have already been strained because of the government’s direct negotiations with Israel for a ceasefire, despite Hezbollah’s active fighting, since the early days of Iran war.

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency and Ukraine’s foreign minister declined to comment.

An Ukrainian official, as cited in the AP, did not answer whether Kyiv helped al-Aydi escape and if he was aware about his whereabouts.

Nishtha Modgil is a TPSJ alum, currently interning with ThePrint

(Edited by Tony Rai)