Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) - Beirut received on Thursday a Lebanese citizen who had been released by Israel, with the Hebrew state announcing that it would release five people it had arrested in southern Lebanon on the sidelines of confrontations with Hezbollah, after it discovered that they were civilians who had not participated in any operations against it.

Published on: 03/09/2026 - 16:37 Last updated: 04/09/2026 - 00:15

This is the first time Israel has released people it captured in Lebanon since the outbreak of the conflict. The Lebanese authorities did not specify the number of their citizens detained by the Hebrew state, but their families and a committee concerned with their affairs documented the names of at least 33 people, who have been detained successively on Lebanese territory since 2024, including at least one Syrian and a number of Hezbollah fighters.

During the last round of negotiations that took place between the two parties in Rome under American auspices in August, the Lebanese government demanded that Israel release a first batch of these prisoners, according to what an official Lebanese source told Agence France-Presse at the time.

The Lebanese Army received, through the International Committee of the Red Cross, one of these five on Thursday afternoon, according to what a Lebanese military source said. He explained that the Red Cross transferred the released man through the Naqoura border crossing in southern Lebanon.

At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced, "It was decided to release five Lebanese civilians who were arrested in areas under the control of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon."

He explained in a statement, "After completing their interrogation, it became clear that they were civilians who were not members of any terrorist organization, did not participate in terrorist acts, and there was no reason to continue detaining them in Israel."

Later, an official Lebanese source reported to Agence France-Presse that the process of releasing the other four civilians, two Lebanese and two Syrians, had been postponed until Friday.

He explained that their release comes in preparation for the completion of the Rome negotiations, for which a date has not yet been set for the next round.

Netanyahu's office linked the release of the five civilians to "intensive efforts" made by both Lebanon and Israel, following the Rome round of talks, to determine the burial place of Lebanese Jewish figures who were kidnapped and killed in Lebanon in the mid-eighties, during the civil war (1975-1990).

The official Lebanese source told Agence France-Presse after the last round of negotiations that the Israeli delegation handed Lebanon a list of names of those whose remains the Hebrew state is demanding to return.

"In progress"

The International Committee of the Red Cross transports those released from Israel to Lebanon through the Naqoura border crossing.

The committee's spokesman in the Middle East, Hashem Asseiran, told Agence France-Presse earlier Thursday that "a humanitarian operation is currently being implemented," explaining that "to ensure the safety of the operation and to preserve the safety of all its participants," the details will be announced after the implementation of the operation is completed.

The Lebanese Army transferred the first released young man, named Malek Ghazi, to the office of its Intelligence Directorate in Tyre, according to the National News Agency.

The family of Ghazi, who is from the town of Ain Ata in the Bekaa Valley, close to the border town of Shebaa with Israel in the south, announced in October 2025 that they had lost contact with him after he went out to exercise, they said.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in a statement on Thursday that “the safe return of any liberated Lebanese to his homeland constitutes an important step on the way to addressing this issue,” thanking “the American administration, especially Ambassador Michel Issa, for the efforts made in this field.”

He pledged to continue working “until all our prisoners are released, the fate of the missing is revealed, and complete Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory is achieved,” explaining that “no matter how difficult the negotiating path may seem, we will continue to mobilize all required efforts to preserve the rights of Lebanon and the interests of the Lebanese.”

For its part, the United States, through a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, welcomed this step, considering that “the governments of Israel and Lebanon demonstrated good faith through these initial steps,” and expressed its hope that “this will form the basis for expanded discussions on other civil issues.”

The confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah began in October 2023, after the party opened a "support front" for Gaza and its ally, Hamas, the day after the outbreak of war in the Palestinian Strip.

That war ended with a ceasefire agreement in November 2024.

On March 2, the war in the Middle East expanded to Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Iranian guide Ali Khamenei on the first day of the US-Israeli raids on Iran.

After that, a ceasefire declaration was reached, and then Lebanon and Israel began direct negotiations under American sponsorship, which resulted in their signing a framework agreement on June 26, which stipulates in particular the disarmament of Hezbollah, the gradual withdrawal of the Hebrew state from the lands it occupies in southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting from “experimental areas.”

Despite the signing of the agreement, Israel still occupies areas of southern Lebanon, and continues to launch raids from time to time and carries out large-scale bombing and bombing operations in southern towns, which it says target Hezbollah facilities, which Lebanon denounces.

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© 2026 AFP

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