Israel hands Lebanon five civilians it had abducted, via ICRC

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has confirmed that five people released from Israeli detention have been transferred to Lebanon, in a move that could provide fresh momentum to stalled negotiations between the two countries.

The ICRC said on Friday that it had facilitated the transfer at the request of the parties involved, with one detainee handed over on Thursday and four others on Friday.

"The ICRC's role in this process was strictly humanitarian," it said, adding that it had acted as a neutral intermediary between Israel and Lebanon and that the transfers were carried out with respect for the safety and dignity of those released.

The development marks a breakthrough in negotiations that had become deadlocked over Israel's continued military operations in Lebanon and its refusal to agree to a second trial area under the framework being discussed between the two sides.

The Lebanese army received Malik Ghazi through the ICRC at the Naqoura crossing on Thursday. The remaining four people, two of whom are Syrian, were transferred on Friday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had announced the release of the five detainees as part of the negotiations with Lebanon.

He also ordered efforts to locate the remains of members of Lebanon's Jewish community who were kidnapped and killed during the Lebanese civil war in the mid-1980s.

Lebanese official sources told The New Arab that the detainee issue had been a central focus of the third round of talks held in Rome in August.

They said the Lebanese delegation had pressed Israel to take a concrete step on the issue, amid growing frustration in Beirut over what officials saw as Israel's failure to meet its commitments.

"The Lebanese delegation insisted on the need for Israel to take a serious step on this issue, particularly as there was Lebanese discontent over Israel's failure to implement any of its commitments," one source said.

The sources said the release followed US diplomatic pressure, particularly from US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa.

They said Issa raised the issue during a recent meeting with Mr Netanyahu, attended by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, and urged Israel to make a gesture that would help preserve the negotiating process.

Washington is pushing for negotiations to continue and for both sides to implement a framework agreement reached on 26 June, according to the sources.

Lebanon has meanwhile pledged to provide information about the remains of missing members of the country's Jewish community, with work on the issue already under way.

The Lebanese sources said further detainee releases could follow as part of that process.

They described the transfer of the five detainees as an important development, but said Beirut would continue pressing for the release of all Lebanese prisoners, an end to Israeli military operations and Israel's withdrawal from territory it continues to occupy.

No date has yet been set for an eighth round of negotiations in Rome.

Several issues remain unresolved, including Israeli attacks, the establishment of a second trial area, arrangements for monitoring implementation and the mechanism expected to replace the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) after its mandate ends in 2026.

"We hope that the breakthrough on the prisoner file will have a positive impact on the process," one Lebanese source said.

However, the detainee release came as Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon continued.

Israeli forces abducted three civilians from the southern town of Halta on Thursday, according to Lebanese reports.

Israel also said it had completed an operation to clear what it described as Hezbollah underground infrastructure in the Ali al-Taher Heights in the Nabatieh district.

A series of Israeli attacks were reported across southern Lebanon overnight and on Friday morning, including in Qantara, Wadi al-Hujeir, Mansouri and Nabatieh al-Fawqa.

Hezbollah had not commented on the Israeli operation at the time of publication.

The Lebanese Association of Prisoners and Liberated Prisoners said Malik Ghazi had disappeared from the Ain Ata area in Rashaya district in eastern Lebanon but had not previously been registered on its list of detainees.

The association said the other four people released were also not on its lists and declined to identify them before an official announcement.

Its most recent list, published on 26 August, contains 36 people believed to be detained by Israel, including farmers, fishermen, civilians, volunteers and resistance fighters.

Three cases date from before October 2024, while 11 date from October 2024 and another 11 from after the ceasefire came into effect on 27 November 2024.

Ten people on the list were detained during the March 2026 war, while one was captured after the June framework agreement.

The issue of missing Lebanese Jews dates to a series of kidnappings in Beirut between 1984 and 1987, mainly in the Kantari and Wadi Abu Jamil areas.

Those abducted included Salim Murad Jamous, a former secretary-general of the Jewish community; community president Isaac Sasson; vice-president Dr Eli Hallaq; and businessman Eli Srour.

The kidnappings were attributed to a group calling itself the Organisation of the Oppressed on Earth, which announced that some of the captives had been executed.

The group demanded the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon following Israel's 1982 invasion and the release of Lebanese detainees held by Israel.

The fate of some of those abducted and the locations of their remains remain unknown.

In its statement on Friday, the ICRC said it remained in confidential dialogue with the authorities concerned over people detained, killed or missing as a result of the conflict.

It said many families in Lebanon were still waiting for information about relatives who may be detained, dead or missing.

The organisation said it was prepared to act as a neutral intermediary in further humanitarian operations if agreements were reached between the parties.

The ICRC also reiterated that it has been unable to visit detainees in Israeli detention facilities since October 2023, including Lebanese nationals.

It called for information on people detained in connection with the conflict and for access to detention centres, saying it remained in talks with the Israeli authorities about resuming visits.

Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here.